Harry Potter & Death's Ultimatum
by White Angel of Auralon
Summary: When Ron stormed out of the tent, Hermione went after him to stop him and disapparated with him. What will happen following this small change to DH ? What will Harry do without his friends?
1. Separation

**Hi, this is my newest Story, it was inspired by SubMcNeill's story 'Unintended Consequeces'. So the beginning is a bit similar, it will get different with the upcoming chapters. She gave me permission to use her idea as the starting point for this story and if you didnt read her story yet, you should do so, it's great!**

**As always I don't own Harry Potter and I want you to see this as a revolving disclaimer as I don't want to write it every chapter. (Lazy Author Priviledge)**

**I have also updated two of my other stories. Happy reading.**

* * *

**Separation**

Harry sat in the tent, shocked that his supposed two best friends would do something like this to him. Things hadn't gone well for them since they had to abandon Grimmauld Place and do the horcrux hunt while camping. And he had known that the two were talking behind his back for a while. They had talked about how he didn't have any plan for the search. They had thought he had more information that he just didn't reveal to them. But he had been completely honest with them. He had told them everything he knew. Why wouldn't he?

After each session with Dumbledore he had told them what he had been shown in the pensieve. He only knew a few more details, like how the people had looked like and what was in the surroundings. He could put pictures to the known horcruxes, but that was all he had of an advantage on them. He had tried to accurately describe the horcruxes to Ron and Hermione. He had told them about the locations Dumbledore had shown him, which had been important steps in Voldemort's life.

The horcrux had made things a lot worse. It made anybody wearing it aggressive and turned existing negative emotions stronger. Ten minutes ago Ron had started a fight about Harry's lack of proper leadership. Hermione had tried to stop him but it had escalated as Harry was sick of just taking Ron's behaviour anymore. He had always been the one to forgive Ron his jealousy or his insecurities. In third year he had stayed the mediator between Ron and Hermione over the Scabbers and Crookshanks episode. In fourth year, he hadn't given Ron a hard time for calling him a cheat and not believing him. In sixth year he had behaved pretty moderate even if he thought Ron shouldn't have treated Hermione like he did. He even hadn't retaliated when Ron had interrupted him and Ginny when Ginny had kissed him on his birthday. But enough was enough. He also had a limit what he could take. Everybody always expected him to be the hero. But he was a normal boy who had been dealt a shitty hand in life by fate. Nobody wanted to see that he lost his parents to become famous. Nobody could understand what he felt for being more or less imprisoned at his relatives all those years.

All for the sake of safety. His friends hadn't thought about what he went through after the death of Cedric. Even if they couldn't write about the things that happened, their letters were so useless. Only platitudes for his feelings. He had felt so guilty for Cedric's death, but had anybody been there for him? No, the Order only thought to guard him. He would have needed somebody to talk to, a friendly face against the Dursleys' sneering and glaring. Why couldn't they have at least had some of his friends visit for a few hours? It wouldn't have been that hard. He knew Remus had been busy trying to get the werewolves on the Order's side, but smuggling Sirius in under an invisibility cloak to only take it off in his room would have been possible. And Hermione was muggleborn. She could have taken the bus and met him at the playground while the Order kept watch. If they had wanted to it would have been possible.

The only one who could understand him had been Sirius, but he was dead. He had died to protect Harry when he had fallen for Voldemort's trap in the Department of Mysteries. Even the wise man Dumbledore had failed him horribly. How the hell was he supposed to find the horcruxes with as little information as he had been given? Why didn't Dumbledore prepare him better for the task he had to fulfil? After Voldemort came back he should have learned advanced magic to better protect himself. He should have learned how to get around protections. If the horcruxes were in places like the cave with the inferi he would be lost.

But instead Dumbledore had distanced himself from Harry without giving Harry a reason. He would have understood that he didn't want to give Voldemort the chance to access his thoughts. Just a note would have been enough. No need for contact. But of course that fact had also been kept secret. He had been left to think he had been the one to attack Mr Weasley. It had been Ginny who made him realize that it couldn't have been him and that he couldn't have been possessed. None of the adults thought what it could mean for Harry. No, their idea to protect him was to keep him in the dark. As if that ever did any good. His lack of information about what was happening had caused Sirius' death.

If he had only known that Voldemort would try to lure him to the Department of Mysteries, he would have been able to spot the trap. But no, informing Harry was the last thing anybody saw fit to do. Then the lack of active training. How should he oppose Voldemort without knowing how to do it? He had decades of experience on Harry. But all the Order members only blindly followed what Professor Dumbledore had said. He felt betrayed by them all. Especially in his sixth year he could have got more training. By then it should have been obvious that Harry learned best by doing. Getting one of the Order members to practice duelling with him once a week in the Room of Requirement wouldn't have tipped off anybody. Somebody like Kingsley could have shown him some spells that would come in useful. He only met with Dumbledore irregularly as the man had been searching for the horcruxes himself. That was understandable and important. But hell, there were other qualified fighters in the Order.

And now even both of his friends had gone. They had promised to help him find and destroy the horcruxes. He had trusted them. But Ron had stormed out of the tent and Hermione had followed him, trying to bring him back. None of the two had returned yet. Harry's thoughts were racing and none of them in good ways.

* * *

Hermione and Ron landed in a heap with Ron looking really surprised at his passenger.

"What are you doing here, Hermione? You could have gotten us splinched." He shouted.

"I'm sorry, Ron, I just wanted to stop you from leaving. I need you. Harry needs you. Please come back. This is all a big misunderstanding." She pleaded.

Before Ron could answer her both of them were hit with a stunner and their world went black. When they awoke again, they found themselves disarmed and under scrutiny of group of violent looking wizards.

"What do we have here? They seem to be Hogwarts age." One man said.

"Aye, they do. What are your names?" He asked sneering holding a piece of parchment in his hands.

"Andromeda Prewett and that is my cousin Franklin. We finished Hogwarts last year." Hermione quickly invented.

"Hm, they are not on the list, they aren't missing students. What's your blood status?"

"I'm halfblood and he is pureblood." Hermione answered trembling.

"So we're unlucky. No little mudblood to cash in. And no students going against the rule. Well, we'll just leave them a little present to remember who is in power now." The first man said, hitting Ron in the stomach.

"Frank!" Hermione called out, but she couldn't get to Ron because the man, who held her, slapped her face.

"Know your place, halfblood. While you're not as low as a mudblood your blood is not good enough to go against a pureblood wizard like me." He growled.

Meanwhile the other one finally stopped hitting Ron and signalled to his crony to let Hermione go. They threw their wands next to them and disapparated. Hermione was crying and crawled over to Ron.

"Ron, are you okay, did they hurt you badly?" She asked concerned.

"I'll live. But he did hit hard. Do you have any pain relieving potion in your bag?" He asked.

"Yes, wait a moment." She said, summoning the potion out of her bag.

She handed it to Ron who quickly swallowed it.

"That was a close one." Ron said after the potion took effect.

"Yes, I didn't know those snatchers Dean's group talked about were that bad. I'm just glad they were so stupid. They didn't make us prove our identities." Hermione said worried.

"Yeah. If they had been smarter they would know that the only living Prewetts are Aunt Muriel and Mum. But since she married Dad she has been a Weasley. All of Mum's other relatives were killed in the first war or died of old age." He confirmed.

"I didn't know that. It just was the first name of a pureblood family I could think of that wouldn't raise suspicion." She said shocked.

"What are we going to do now? I can't return to the tent, I'd just get into another fight with Harry. While most was the horcrux I need some time to deal with my feelings about his lack of a plan." Ron admitted.

"We could apparate to my grandmum's old home. It's empty as she died three years ago and no new tenants could be found. It won't be enough for a long time, but it would suffice for one night. We could treat our injuries and return to Harry tomorrow morning."

"Okay we'll do that, Hermione. Harry will understand that it was better for us to have some room from each other for one night."

With that Hermione took Ron per side-along apparition to her grandmother's house. She let them both inside and managed to get the things for some sandwiches in town half an hour later. They ate them and then went to bed. Due to their exhaustion they only awoke at ten in the morning and decided to get more supplies before returning to the tent.

After an hour of searching at their previous location they realized horrified that they had been too late. Harry and the tent were gone and none of them had any idea where Harry could be right now.

* * *

After two hours of sitting in the tent waiting, hoping Ron and Hermione would return, Harry walked out of the tent looking around cautiously. The group they had eavesdropped on, which had talked about the sword of Gryffindor being nearly stolen and that the sword in Bellatrix vault was a fake wasn't seen or heard. He hoped they weren't near him anymore. He had gotten an idea how to at least get some fish to eat. The whole conflict had been blown out of proportion because Ron had been hungry and complained about an empty stomach. And he really needed something to eat right now. Hermione in her haste had taken away all the things she had inn her bottomless bag, including all their supplies.

Just another stroke to his mission. Why should things be easy for him? If you could call camping in the wild with little to no food and no progress in the mission easy. They never were after all. He just had the things he never let leave his body like his invisibility cloak, the marauder's map, the mokeskin pouch - filled with the snitch, the shard of the mirror from Sirius and a few coins - which Hagrid had given him for his birthday and the clothes on his body, which were just now getting soaked while he walked around trying to determine if there was anybody close by. He also hoped that Ron and Hermione would come back after Ron had calmed down a bit.

"Accio salmon." Harry whispered and collected the three fish that had come out of the river.

At least now he wouldn't be hungry anymore. With routine from many years of cooking for the Dursleys he gutted the fish and threw the inners into the river for them to be carried away. He cleaned the spot where he had gutted the fish with a quick scourgify. He could understand that Tonks had problems getting the grip on household charms. They could be tricky. While he prepared the fish in the kitchen part of the tent, he pondered about this whole operation.

If this was how his friends behaved over an argument, could he really trust them to follow him until the end? Even if they came back? It was obvious that Ron had never really thought how they would have to do the mission. He had relied on Harry and Hermione having a plan. In the end mainly on Harry knowing exactly where they would find the horcruxes and how to destroy them. But Harry didn't know where they were. How should he? Even Dumbledore hadn't known where to find them. Harry only had some clues about what they were. Even finding out how to destroy them had been up to them. Thankfully Hermione had summoned those books. But it was another example about Dumbledore keeping too many fucking secrets. Shouldn't something like that be one of the first things he told Harry? Perhaps he hadn't expected to die before he could tell Harry everything, but in times of war you should always make sure others could continue.

He sat down and ate the salmon he had fried. His stomach was very grateful for being filled again. Well, of all of them Harry had the most experience with staying hungry. Thanks to his neglectful relatives.

Okay, enough mental complaining for now, he needed a plan. And he needed a warm shower. He was freezing. He quickly got out of his wet clothes and went to the small bathroom to get at least dry.

While cleaning his body using a bit of hot water he had prepared in the kitchen before, he thought what he could do next. He didn't even have a change of clean clothes as Hermione had those in her bag. Well, he could probably transfigure something to keep him warm until his clothes had dried. Damn that he couldn't do a proper drying charm. He should have learned it after he had realized his shortcoming in the cave with Dumbledore, but he didn't. He also needed more supplies. Where could he get them without getting caught? After all, the polyjuice potion was in the bag too.

Harry took one of the pillow cases from Ron's cot and enlarged it with an _engorgio_ charm. Then he tried his best to transform it into something resembling normal clothes. He got it that far that he had a jumper and pants. They didn't truly fit him, but they kept him warm enough and he was used to clothes too big for him.

That was an idea. He had left many of his things at Privet Drive. He knew from Remus that after he had left the house the Death Eaters had searched everything for any clues where he could be. But they hadn't found anything and left after destroying some of the furniture.

The Order had already repaired the damage. He could at least regroup there and plan for the next part of his search. He knew Aunt Petunia always had non-perishable food stored in the house because Uncle Vernon and Dudley needed a lot to eat as she thought. Even after starting Dudley's diet they had always had stored a lot of food in the basement. And they didn't take it with them. After all, Uncle Vernon had changed his mind every day, so Aunt Petunia had bought all she needed for the large appetite of her husband.

* * *

With each passing hour Harry got more depressed. It became more and more secure to say his friends had abandoned him. Otherwise they would have already come back. Just what did he do to deserve this? He finally cracked and cried into his pillow. He didn't deserve being abandoned when he needed his friends the most. He didn't deserve to be the only one trying to destroy Voldemort. He was seventeen; Voldemort was seventy with way more experience than him. He had the whole Ministry power at his back and call and he (Harry) was wanted by the whole country. He couldn't simply go into a shop somewhere to get things he could use in his quest.

Sometime around two in the morning Harry managed to fall asleep.

The next morning Harry went out of the tent again looking for any sign of Ron and Hermione. When it was noon and there still had been no sign of them, he decided to move locations. He packed up the tent and his few things. He needed to find a way to easier transport the tent now that he didn't have Hermione's bag anymore and disapparated from the spot he had been.

He apparated in the backyard of #4 Privet Drive. He quickly checked the house for any traps but he didn't find any. Obviously the Death Eaters had given up on monitoring the house. After all, with him declaring he wouldn't regard this place his home anymore, the wards had fallen and Snape for sure had reported about the animosities between Harry and his relatives just to revel in Harry's despair. Harry soon found the hidden key he had left in a secret spot in the garden years ago when Dudley had found it funny to lock Harry out of the house regularly. He had gotten in lots of trouble when he wasn't inside when his aunt and uncle had considered it prudent.

He unlocked the back door with a little difficulty, after all the key had been exposed to the weather for some time now. Then he slipped inside and locked the backdoor again. He tried turning on the lights but the electricity had been cut. Well, it made sense. Without anybody living in the house for some time he couldn't see his uncle paying the bills. Thankfully the water was still running and for some reason that Harry had never really understood but was really grateful for now, Aunt Petunia had gotten a gas stove.

Perhaps it was because all those famous TV cooks had gas stoves. It had been her Christmas present when he had been at his sixth year at Hogwarts. And the gas still worked so he could cook some meals until he found a better suited location. He quickly went to the basement, the stairs lightened by the light on the tip of his wand, to see what kind of food was still in the house. He wanted to cry for joy when he saw some convenience products he could easily cook together with some flour, sugar, noodles, tinned fruits, tinned soup, tinned vegetables and even two glasses of jam he had been forced to make just a few weeks before he left because it was fashionable to have homemade jam for breakfast.

Of course Aunt Petunia had told her gossip friends that she had been the one to make it. Harry took a pre-made pack of macaroni with cheese and took it upstairs with him. He heated some water for his food and made himself a cup of tea while waiting for his food to cook. While he ate he pondered about his mission. If he was honest with himself, he hadn't been properly prepared.

There were two reasons for this. Dumbledore not telling him earlier about the horcruxes and him mostly only putting real effort into Defence against the Dark Arts at school. He hadn't put all his energy into Transfiguration or Charms like he should have done. At least after Voldemort came back.

In his defence, his fifth year he had been more concerned with the bitch Umbridge and her reign of terror, and getting the DA prepared to defend themselves; in sixth year he had thought Dumbledore would help him prepare for what he would have to do. But the only thing he got was bits of information; important information, but nonetheless he had been left on his own most of the time. With all the workload of writing essays and his concerns regarding Malfoy, completely right as he knew now, which nobody had taken serious at the time; he had neglected other areas of magic he would need to know besides Defence. Harry needed to put the search on hold for a while to get ready for continuing the search. While the house was without electricity and therefore cold, he had supplies here which he could use. And he could put on clothes against the cold and he had blankets. He had enough food to last him for three weeks easily. He was used to eat simple. He would get through.

The basement was perfect as there were no windows through which the nosy neighbours could see him training magic. The underage restriction law had been another problem as he hadn't been able to train during the summers, that and the Dursleys would never have allowed it. That made Dumbledore's decisions regarding his housing even more annoying. He just had had to stay here for two weeks after his fifth year before he was relocated to the Burrow. So there hadn't been any need to keep him here for all that time, more, Dumbledore could have told him about the loopholes in the trace so he could have trained while being at Grimmauld Place. He could have been learning. While using a wand would have been impossible most of the time because of Mrs Weasley and her opinion of underage laws he could have gotten tutored on subjects that didn't require one, like bettering his abysmal Potions abilities.

And Sirius would have loved to help him getting ready. After all he had been imprisoned at the house he had hated for his past memories. And teaching Harry would have made him feel like he was helping in the war. Harry could really understand him. Being back at Privet Drive had not been his first choice, but he knew his way around and he had left his school things here. He hoped they were still in his old room.

Deciding that he needed to know he climbed up the stairs and went into his old room. Obviously everything was still there and undamaged. It seemed the Death Eaters hadn't been interested in old spellbooks that were left behind. But now Harry would make good use of them. He would learn all those practical charms and spells that would make his life easier on the run from the Ministry. He had to be self-sufficient. While he could blend into the muggle world, he doubted that any horcruxes were hidden where muggles lived. Voldemort hated muggles with all his being.

So Hermione's idea that he could have hidden one at his old orphanage was not plausible. He still thought Hogwarts was the most probable location. He would look into it later. He needed to think about other probable locations. But for now he would start relearning his books and get his skills up to the level they should have been already. He wouldn't repeat his mistake of relying on others. His best friends had abandoned him. He really felt lonely and he would need time to cope but he would pull through. He didn't want to live in a world that Voldemort ruled.

He also needed to find out what his relatives had left at the house and what he would need for his task. He didn't feel anything wrong with taking all that was useful and left. After all, they had made him work like a house elf all his life, so some repayment was only legitimate. They probably wouldn't even notice. He went through all the rooms and came up victorious. In Dudley's room he found an envelope with fifty pounds in ten pound notes. It had fallen behind the bed, but nothing a summoning charm couldn't get hold of. Dudley had probably forgotten it was there; otherwise he wouldn't have left a sum like that behind. In Vernon and Petunia's bedroom he got another fifty seven pounds. Twenty pounds in coins. Even Aunt Petunia with her cleanliness obsession didn't find them all. Some notes had come from Uncle Vernon's jackets he wore at work. The last money he got from the living room. Obviously Petunia had a nice little stock of money hidden herself. In the horrible flower vase that nobody was allowed to touch, it had been a present from her godmother, there were three hundred pounds. With four hundred pounds Harry's prospects looked much better. He had dreaded camping in the wild again with no food while it was snowing outside. Now he had the options of getting at least proper food. Four hundred pounds would help him get food for about five months if he rationed it.

* * *

Harry woke up with a headache and a sore throat. Great, right now a cold was something he really didn't need. And medicine was something the Dursleys would have taken with them. He forced himself out of the bed shivering when the cold air hit his body as he got out from under the sheets. He traipsed to the cupboard where Aunt Petunia kept the medicine but he was disappointed to only find pills against stomach ache that had expired one year ago. Now he had a problem. All the Potions they had carried with them were with Hermione. He didn't have anything and he didn't know how to brew the potion himself. Even if he did, he didn't have the ingredients.

Harry went to the kitchen to at least make some tea and sandwiches before he went back to bed. He had begun shaking during the time the water heated up. He just hoped one day of rest would take care of his cold.

After sleeping some hours Harry was sure his cold wouldn't go away with bed rest alone. What could he do? He needed help but who would help? Who could he call without endangering himself and his helper? He only knew one option. It was a bit risky but if he remembered right, he would be able to find him without problem.

"Kreacher." Harry called weakly.

The pop he heard following his call was music in Harry's ears.

"Master Harry?" Kreacher asked looking around.

Then the elf saw his master lying in his bed, clearly suffering a fever.

"Master Harry, what happened?" He asked.

"Hello, Kreacher. I'm really glad to see you. Did you get away from Grimmauld Place without injuries? I was so worried they would hurt you when that one Death Eater followed us there." Harry said and began coughing heavily.

"Don't talk, Master Harry. Kreacher is getting away alright. Evil men never got him. Kreacher has been staying at Hogwarts since then, having an eye on Master's girl Weezy." Kreacher said.

Harry looked at Kreacher hoping for more information. Obviously his house elf understood.

"Hogwarts is very different now. Dark place. Greasy git headmaster lets other Death Eaters punish students as they like. Many are suffering from evil curse that hurts. But redhead Miss and other friends of Master Harry are doing things to rebel against them. House elves are very unhappy there. They want to help students but are forbidden to do so. Evil teachers have stopped dinner for three houses. Only Slytherins get food."

"That's horrible; they use the cruciatus on students?" Harry asked only to start coughing again.

He needed to get better first.

"Kreacher, I need some potions to get rid of this cold." He croaked.

"Kreacher will get them for Master Harry. Should Kreacher get them in Apothecary or from Potions Master at Hogwarts?" He asked.

"How would you be able to buy them at a store? I'm a wanted criminal in the eyes of the Ministry." Harry asked hoarsely.

"Kreacher is house elf and can get money from Master Harry's vaults of course." Kreacher told Harry as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

Perhaps it was in the wizarding world. He didn't know that much about the world after all.

"I think Hogwarts will be better for now, but I also want you to get me thousand galleons from my vault. Can you also get muggle money for me there?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then I also want five thousand pounds. When I get better you'll have to tell me more about some things all wizarding children learn while growing up, Kreacher. I can't afford to be ignorant anymore. My life depends on blending in."

Kreacher bowed and disapparated.

Harry closed his eyes and nearly fell asleep when Kreacher returned with some vials of potion.

"Master Harry must take his potion and then he has to sleep. Kreacher will clean Master Harry's clothes for him."

"Can you also adjust them for me?" Harry asked before swallowing the potion.

"Of course Kreacher will do so."

Harry nodded gratefully before feeling sleep overcoming him.

* * *

When Harry awoke next time he felt a lot better. But he knew from previous experience that he needed two more doses to get fully rid of his cold. So he looked at the alarm clock he had repaired years ago and saw that he had slept seven hours. No wonder he felt rested. He took the potion from his night stand and drank it. He had to go to the bathroom. After taking care of his full bladder he went back to his bed. He saw Kreacher was already there with a cup of soup for him.

"Good evening, Master Harry. Kreacher made chicken soup for you to get better soon." The elf said.

"Thank you, Kreacher, I'd really like some." Harry answered, getting back under his blanket, noticing that Kreacher had put some hot-water bottles into his bed.

Having a house elf to care for you when you were ill was great. Harry took the soup and enjoyed the flavour. Somehow he doubted Kreacher had taken the supplies from the basement.

"Okay, Kreacher, I'd like to learn more about how children are raised in different magical families. Not the styles but what kind of things they learn, especially in the old pureblood families. As I was raised by muggles who hated me, I didn't even learn all I could about the muggle world."

Kreacher looked disgusted at the thought that the disgusting muggles didn't even have the decency to teach his Master about at least the muggle world. And it was like a crime to leave the descendant of one of the old pureblood houses that ignorant. Even if his mistress thought the Potters were not taking the purity of blood serious enough. But James Potter had been the son of Dorea Black, so he was family.

"Kreacher will gladly tell Master Harry what proper pureblood Lord has to know. Master Harry is heir to Potter family; old and noble blood. Not as noble and old as Black family but they are the only one close. And Master Harry's grandmother was a Black, so he has that blood too. All wizard children learn etiquette from young age. Parents make sure child knows how to behave to not shame the family. Child has to hold himself proudly and confident. Being pureblood is an honour and a privilege. When children are six they learn to write with a quill and learn calculating. They learn about basic potion ingredients, the most important wizards of the society, if the family has greenhouses they are taught which plants work for potions.

"Normally no pureblood family has children do work with plants themselves. Either they have Herbology Masters doing it or house elves look after greenhouses. Children also learn about the theory of basic spells and Astronomy. It was very important in Black family. All male children were named after stars. Of course they were taught how to fly and learn about family business. Black family was mostly investing and gaining interest from companies. All children are told tales of "Beedle" for bedtime story."

"You mean Beedle the Bard?" Harry asked.

"Yes, that the stories. When children are ten, the parents prepare them more for Hogwarts. Some get wands early on and let them practice easy spells to have an advantage when they start at school. All old families keep wands of dead family members to have wands to teach children before they can buy their first wands at eleven. All families make sure that children know how to behave while brewing to prevent injuries."

"That explains why Malfoy and the other Slytherins had such an easy time in first year in Snape's class. They had learned how to do things before Hogwarts." Harry realized.

"Yes, Master Draco always was good at Potions. Mistress always told Kreacher how greasy git headmaster gave him presents to learn with. Greasy git headmaster is Master Draco's godfather." Kreacher explained.

While Harry didn't really like Kreacher calling Draco Master, he knew that because of him being of Black descent Kreacher listened to him somewhat as he was a member of the Black family. Thankfully the elf was now loyal to him. And he liked him calling Snape greasy git headmaster.

Harry had finished his soup and put the cup on his bedside table.

"The soup was great, thanks, Kreacher."

"Kreacher is glad Master Harry liked it. Kreacher will go and clean a bit." The elf said, leaving Harry alone again.

Harry decided now was a good time to study and he summoned his textbooks for transfiguration to him, summoned a notebook and a pen and began listing the spells he found useful and probably would need. He started with the first year text and worked his way up to the sixth year texts.

* * *

Ron and Hermione sat back in the house of Hermione's grandmother and were thinking hard what they would do now.

"Where could he have gone? He must have known we would come back." Hermione fretted.

"I don't know. Why did he leave? He even took the tent with all the things in it with him, the git." Ron complained.

"Huh? He doesn't have anything except the horcrux, the things he always has on his body like his invisibility cloak and the pouch he got from Hagrid and what was in the tent, which isn't much except for cooking utensils and some towels in the bathroom. Everything else is in my bag" Hermione stated.

"Oh no, don't tell me we left him there with nothing." Ron pleaded.

"I fear we did. Perhaps that was the reason he left. He thought we had abandoned him and that he had to continue alone." Hermione was crying now. "What have we done, Ron? How could we have left him alone? We promised to help him find the horcruxes. And we broke our promise."

Ron while feeling bad didn't like how agitated she was about Harry. It was always about Harry.

"He will get by. We'll try to find him. He should have known that we would come back. And it wasn't our fault that we had to recover from that snatcher attack." Ron argued.

"How can you be so unconcerned? He is our best friend. How would you feel if it was Ginny or Fred and George who were alone out there?" She asked.

"What do they have to do with it? They are my siblings; of course I'd be really worried about them." Ron didn't understand what she wanted to tell him.

"But Harry is for me like Ginny, Fred and George are for you. He is like the brother I never had. My little brother whom I have to look out for. And I failed him. I left him without supplies in the rainy night, thinking I abandoned him." She cried more.

Ron felt strangely relieved. She only thought of Harry as a brother. He had to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, Hermione; I didn't know you felt like that for him. I'd also worry about my siblings. I wish we could turn back time to make it right. We can only try to find out where he is. Where would he have gone?"

"I don't know, perhaps he was being stupid and went to Godric's Hollow. He wanted to go there for months. Perhaps even Hogwarts. But I don't think so; he wouldn't be able to get into the castle. Even he wouldn't risk it. But he would also need new supplies. I don't know where he would go. He knows Grimmauld Place is not an option after we led the Death Eater there. But with the tent he could just camp somewhere near a village and try to steal the most necessary things. He wouldn't have a choice as I've the money."

"I think we should start with Godric's Hollow. Then we work on other places. We'll find him and apologize. We'll make it right." Ron assured her.

Hermione nodded and both apparated away to Godric's Hollow.

* * *

**And cut. This was Chapter Number One. Please tell me what you think. Until next time.**


	2. Memories

**Hi, i'm back with the next chapter of this story. Thanks to all of you that already left comments. For those that fear that I won't complete my stories, you can be assured that I will. This story is already completely written and I have finished Forging Destiny too.**

**Some stories I am still working on. From my Naruto stories I have one finished. So now that I have a computer and internet at home again you can expect more updates. I have some time to make up for.**

**Happy reading to all of you.**

* * *

**Memories**

Harry stood in the basement of number four and had cleared an area for his practice. He also had materials to train his transfiguration. He knew he needed to get better. He had finally written down all spells he thought would be useful to him. He had then gone over the list and categorized them into three classes. First priority were spells that would help him survive on his own. Household spells, spells that transfigured things he could find everywhere like rocks into clothes, detection spells for wards, he hadn't even known those spells were in his Charms books, the obliviate charm, confundus charms and some more.

The second priority were spells that would help him along but weren't the survival category like cleaning spells, animation spells, cooking charms, as he still preferred to cook the muggle way, conjuration of things and glamour charms.

Last priority were all the other spells.

He also had taken his first year Potions book to see if he could find instructions on basic knowledge like Kreacher had told him all the pureblood children learned before even going to school. He found out that there was nothing in the book. And One thousand magical Herbs and Fungi wasn't a big help either. While the properties of the plants were accurately described there was nothing on how they reacted with other ingredients or how they should be prepared. Now he would have loved the Half-Blood Prince's book. While Snape was a total ass, he knew a lot about potions. If only the man had been a proper teacher, they all could have learned so much more than they did.

Surprisingly Kreacher was really good at selecting high quality ingredients and knew how they reacted with each other. It turned out that Regulus had been really good at Potions and had made Kreacher assist him from time to time and had him buy his ingredients regularly. Being the favourite son Regulus had always gotten the ingredients he wanted for polishing his brewing skills. Kreacher had also set up elf wards around the house to make sure nobody could track Harry down here. He was completely safe. And nobody would be able to notice any magic he did here.

Harry also found out that the Black family had property in other countries. They had a chateau in France where a very popular vine in pureblood circles was pressed. It was the only business the Black family directly managed. He wondered if it was still maintained. Then there was a holiday mansion in the most expensive part of wizarding Greece. It had been bought three hundred years ago by Castor Black from an opponent whom he had driven to bankruptcy. Harry thought it was only logical that the Black family had more houses spread over the country when he thought about the number of family members he had seen on the family tree. But in recent times there had been no other males born than Sirius and Regulus. With them now dead the name Black had ended. There only were two boys of Black descent left, them being him through his grandmother Dorea, Kreacher had been very happy to point it out and Draco through his mother Narcissa.

Perhaps Tonks' and Remus' child would be a boy. The thought of Remus made him sad. He really wished he could talk to the last marauder. See if he could forgive him his words, but he really thought a dad should be with his child. And if Remus saw sense it would be okay, right?

Harry looked over his notes on the horcruxes. He needed a way to destroy them. There was the sword of Gryffindor, embedded with basilisk venom; he didn't know where it was. Then there was the matter of something that destroyed all things totally, if only Hermione didn't have the books on horcruxes, he would know more now. He would have liked to look up other ways to destroy the things. By the way, why didn't she tell them if there were other ways? She had only pointed out basilisk venom was one way. They should all have known all the ways.

Well, as he couldn't help on that front now, the only source of basilisk venom he knew of lay miles under Hogwarts in the Chamber of Secrets and until he could sneak into Hogwarts he wouldn't be able to reach it. Perhaps during the Christmas holidays. The school would be empty and he would have more room to look for another horcrux there and get a basilisk fang to destroy the horcrux.

Thinking about Hogwarts, he would send Kreacher back there to support the students and spy on the Death Eaters. He wanted the students to have a possibility to get potions and food without the Carrows, the Death Eater teachers and Snape knowing about it. As Kreacher was his elf, he was outside of their authority and one house elf between hundreds wouldn't stand out. Perhaps Dobby and Winky could also help. They were free elves after all. Harry wanted to do something for the students. Especially for Ginny. He missed her so much. But she would be in danger if Voldemort found out her relationship with him.

Deciding that he needed more information, he sat down with Kreacher in the living room, Kreacher insisted on sitting on the floor, to get as much information the old elf had about Voldemort and important places in the wizarding world in general.

"Okay, Kreacher, I want you to think back to the time when Regulus was following the Dark Lord." Harry said, not wanting to frighten the elf saying Voldemort's name.

"I need as much as you can remember. I need to find places he thought important and places which would be general symbols of being a wizard." Harry said.

"Hm, Kreacher doesn't know much about the Dark Lord. Master Regulus didn't tell Kreacher much about his service to the Dark Lord. Just that the Dark Lord was very powerful; and very interested to have purebloods rule the country. But Kreacher knows important places for wizards.

"There is Hogwarts. Every wizard who wants to go far in life learns at Hogwarts. Then there is Ministry. Place of government and Wizengamot. Next is Gringotts. All pureblood children get a trust vault until they come of age or inherit family fortune. In either case the trust vault either becomes personal vault for earned gold or child gets access to family vault. Nowhere safer than Gringotts to keep treasure. Next are family manors. Blood is important in wizarding world. Betraying own family is great shame." Kreacher said.

Harry was writing down everything Kreacher told him. He now got hints where Voldemort could have hidden a horcrux. If he connected the things he knew about Voldemort with the knowledge he gained from Kreacher, perhaps he could find one.

"Thanks for the information, Kreacher. I think it will help me find something. As I'll soon continue looking for the things the Dark Lord has hidden, I want you to do something for me. You have told me that the students at Hogwarts are mistreated by the Carrows. I want you to return to the castle without telling anybody that you're my elf, except for Ginny Weasley who knows you already, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. They are my closest friends left there. They will be able to tell you where help is needed most.

"As I can't show myself at Hogwarts right now, I want to give them help this way. Ask Dobby if he would help you in my name. He always wants to help me, so I think he would do it. And together you can supply the students with potions, food and other things they need to survive the terror happening there. Now that I have a better understanding of the wizarding world and have money to get food and supplies easier, things will be better. I can hide in the muggle world easily while looking for the other horcruxes."

"Of course, Master Harry. Kreacher will do what Master asks. Master may call Kreacher when he needs him." Kreacher said.

"I will; thank you for all your help, Kreacher. I wouldn't have been able to plan properly without your information and wouldn't have gotten rid of the cold as fast without your care." Harry said smiling at the elf.

Kreacher look proud to have served his Master well. Then he popped away to Hogwarts.

* * *

Harry stood with a new bottomless backpack on his back in the backyard of number four. He had spent four weeks here revising his classes. He had a plan in mind now. He had decided that there was probably a horcrux at Gringotts. As Kreacher had pointed out it was a symbol of being a full wizard to have a vault there. And the older the family the better protected the vault was. Considering that Voldemort had trusted Lucius Malfoy with one of his horcruxes it wouldn't be that much of a stretch of imagination if he had given Bellatrix, his most devoted servant, another. One horcrux he was pretty sure was at Hogwarts. Hermione just didn't understand how Voldemort thought.

She had never been hated at her home. For her it was her home. For those who didn't have a proper home, the castle was their true home. Didn't McGonagall say it before their sorting in first year? 'Your house will be your family while you're here.' Didn't that classify as a home? It did for Harry for sure and he and Voldemort weren't that different in their childhood experiences. Both hated the place they grew up at.

Harry didn't know where the snake could be. Probably with Voldemort or out on a mission for him. Well, Harry would start with Bellatrix. Lestrange Manor would be the place where she would be. If the horcrux was in her vault, he needed her to get it. The plan was simple if not morally troublesome. He knew the goblins would never let him get near Bellatrix' vault. But she could go there without a problem. The only way to make her do it was by fooling or controlling her. Either he could pose as Voldemort, which he was sure she would look through immediately or put her under the imperius curse. With her having spent fourteen years at Azkaban she should be susceptible.

So Harry went to London by train, travelling and disguising himself the muggle way was a lot safer than doing things the wizarding way. He had bought make-up for covering up his scar, hair dye, he now had light brown hair, brown coloured contacts with his prescription, a lot safer as he now couldn't lose his glasses anymore and everybody looking for him would look for a black haired young man with green eyes and glasses. He could blend in a lot easier now.

Kreacher had also trained with him to make the impression of a young pureblood that was from a family abroad he knew of. There were some families living abroad that he could pretend to be descended from. Faking that he was just out of school was not that hard. Kreacher had found out at Diagon Alley, when he had bought potion ingredients and the bottomless backpack for Harry, that there had been put a taboo on Voldemort's name. Harry could have hugged the elf for giving him the warning. He had the habit of calling him by the name and that also explained how Hermione, Ron and him had been found in Tottenham Court Road at the beginning of their trip.

Thinking of the two still hurt, but Harry had also realized that he had held himself back by relying on and not wanting to upset Hermione. Or not showing up Ron with being that much better than him. Hermione hated not being the best, the trouble with Snape's old potions book was a clear indication. Now Harry had learned all the spells he thought he needed to know. He was sure he had all the things that were taught up until the end of sixth year down really well. He had also noticed that there were more spells in the books than they had learned at school. He had learned those spells too.

Now he really felt like he had properly prepared for this thing.

Harry went through the shopping centre content getting some fitting muggle clothes. He didn't want to spend all of his money thoughtlessly but he really wanted to have some things that would fit and make it easier for him to just blend in. After all, a young man with old, too big clothes would be remembered more than a young man with normal clothes. Something wizards never understood. Harry didn't want to think about the obvious mistakes he and the others had made with their planning. Voldemort didn't want to have much contact with the muggle world, he would organize raids there but he concentrated on the wizarding world.

When it was his turn the cashier scanned the tags for his four pairs of jeans in black and blue, five t-shirts in different colours, three sweaters, one pair of shoes and one pair of lined boots, five sets of underwear and socks each, a dark brown belt, a cap, a scarf and gloves in dark blue respectively and a warm coat. Harry gave the woman the requested money and put away his change. He went to an empty alley, cast a notice-me-not charm and packed all his new clothes away in the backpack. One set of clothes he put on immediately and then returned to the busy streets of London, making his way to Charring Cross Road to go through the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley.

He had the intention to visit WWW to equip himself with all the nice, nasty things the twins came up with. He wanted to get one of their shield products in case he was caught off guard. And he would try to slip the twins a message for the others to let them know he was alright. He also needed to find out if Bellatrix was making regular visits to Diagon Alley. After all he needed to get her when she didn't expect it. The woman was one of the best fighters Voldemort had. He wouldn't be able to take her head on.

He would need to get a hooded black robe for disguising himself when he was in the wizarding world and stock up on a few books like the seventh year books from his booklist. He would continue with his self-study. He had come to like being that independent and if the wonder happened and he survived this war, he would be able to still take his NEWTs. And some of the spells were simply dead useful in his quest.

Harry slipped one of the robes Kreacher had gotten him from Grimmauld Place, green with silver fastenings, over his muggle clothes and entered the pub. He was pretending to be annoyed to have to go through muggle London on his way to Diagon Alley. He swiftly went to the backroom and opened the brick wall to the alley. He didn't like how all the shops looked. Business couldn't go well in a climate of fear after all. Beggars sat at the sides trying to get some money to get through the day. Harry did his best to ignore them. He made brief visits to Madam Malkin's and Flourish and Blotts and then went to WWW. The shop was as bright as ever.

He entered and saw that there weren't any other customers. It made sense. This time of the year the twins probably made most of their money with owl orders. He quickly went to some of the things he wanted to get. Some decoy detonators were top on his list, together with Peruvian instant darkness powder.

"Hello young man, looking for a way to prank your friends?" Fred said smiling behind the counter.

"Not really. I'm new here and some pen pals wrote to me about the shop and I wanted to have a look while I'm here. I'm visiting some relatives at the moment." Harry followed his cover story.

„I've heard you invented some cool shield hats. My mother's cousin, whose family I'm visiting at the moment, works at the Ministry and told me they had gotten some from here. With the current situation I'd like to have something to protect me better. His daughter also was telling you had put up a swamp on a floor at her school in your last year. She made that up, right?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Oh, young man, you're so doubtful about the things a true prankster can achieve. Yes, the thing with the swamp is true. We even have some of them in our assortment. They are called portable swamps, a great way to barricade narrow paths. As you're interested in protecting yourself, perhaps you'd be interested in that line of products we offer. We have decoy detonators; they produce loud noise so you have a distraction to get away from tight spots. Or there are the shield clothes you mentioned. They are able to withstand minor curses. Don't try getting in the way of stronger spells and least of all unforgivables. They won't block them. Think of them like a strong _protego_ charm cast by your clothes and you get their capability." George said grinning.

"Wow that is really ingenious. I want one of them for sure. I'll have a look around what else you have here. What kinds of clothes do you have for the shield products?"

"We have hats, cloaks and for the Hogwarts students we sold big with scarves in the house colours." He explained.

"Hm, I haven't been at Hogwarts, so I don't really have a house which colours I'd prefer, so what are the colour schemes for those? I don't like the typical wizard hats, so they are out." Harry went along with his made up persona.

And a scarf would be easy to hide without standing out for some months.

"Well, the colours are red and gold, green and silver, blue and bronze and black and yellow. Have a look; that will make it easier to decide."

Harry looked at the scarves. While it would be nice to have Gryffindor colours, it would be easier to get through certain places with Slytherin colours. And the colours didn't look bad with him. To hell he would take both.

"I'd like two pairs. One in green and silver and one in red and gold. I like them both and having a spare would probably be smart." Harry said and Fred took them both to the counter for him.

Harry looked around a bit more and put some more things he could use and some for cover on the counter.

"Thanks for doing business with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes." Both twins said.

"I'll come again. Oh, I nearly forgot, I was told to give the owners of this shop a letter. Here, I don't know who the person who gave it to me was, but he gave me a galleon if I dropped it here. So here it is; bye." Harry said, handing Fred the letter and then leaving the shop.

The twins looked at the white envelope.

"What do you recon who could have sent it?" George asked.

Fred cast some detection spells on the letter Bill had taught the twins. Nothing showed up.

"There are no charms on it. So it isn't meant to harm us, let's open it and see what's inside." Fred said.

George nodded and tore the letter open. He began reading.

"Blimey, Fred, he is really good!" George said, showing the letter to his twin.

Now Fred was also reading.

_Hello Gred and Forge,_

_As you're reading this just now, it means my test run of my disguise went perfectly. If even you don't recognize me, it will fool the Ministry and the Dark Annoyance as well._

_I just wanted to give a life sign as I know many are worried about me. Please share this letter with those who need to know. I think you know who I'm talking about. I'm still working on the job I've got to do, even if I've lost my two companions due to an argument. Tell them I still don't understand their reasons for leaving me if you know where they are._

_I have done some more research and am pretty sure I know where some of the things I need to find are. Hopefully the Dark Annoyance will soon lose his power. I'll do my best to make it possible. Perhaps I'll come by sometime again._

_As I know that you can't just trust my word, when I gave you a certain sack of gold, I asked you how much canary cream you could get for it._

The letter was signed with a simple H

"He really is good, I didn't suspect a thing." George said.

"Oh yes, brother of mine. But we have to have a serious conversation with our dear brother and a certain girl." Fred added seriously.

„You're right. I can't believe they would do that to him."

* * *

Ron and Hermione hadn't had any success in finding Harry the past weeks. More importantly they had barely managed to escape arrest twice now. They had nearly met some Ministry officials one week ago who were tasked arresting a muggleborn wizard who had not turned up at the Ministry for the questioning. They had failed as the man had fled the country, but the treatment the family of said man received had opened their eyes to the danger Hermione was in.

They finally had gone to Bill and Fleur's to hide for some time. That had resulted in some arguments and them feeling even guiltier than before. But they really tried to find Harry again. But they just had no idea where he could have gone. They had searched in Godric's Hollow and found nothing. They had apparated to places where they had been before where Harry could have camped but nothing indicated he had been there. Harry had simply disappeared as it seemed. They needed to make a decision. Hermione couldn't just stay hidden at Shell Cottage or the Burrow.

The Ministry would sooner or later look there again and then they would endanger their family. And Ron couldn't turn up there either as the ruse of him being ill with spattergroit still worked. If anybody thought he had recovered, he would be forced to attend Hogwarts, not a prospect he wanted to entertain with the Death Eaters running the school. He was known as Harry Potter's best friend, they were bound to try and interrogate him under veritaserum as Hermione had pointed out.

* * *

Harry sat in a McDonald's eating a burger with some fries. He had overheard some nice information on Bellatrix in Knockturn Alley. It seemed she was usually taunting some of the more opposing shop keepers once a month. And it seemed like she did it always on the first of the month. She went around and caused fear while flaunting her pureblood status. It was the perfect opportunity for somebody to build a trap. Harry wondered why Bellatrix would behave like that if she had to know this too. Perhaps she thought nobody would dare to try and trap her. Well most people wouldn't.

As it was just the third of November Harry had a month to plan the whole thing. He decided to finally make the trip he had wanted to make for some time. He would visit his parents' graves at Godric's Hollow. He would apparate there as it was too long a distance to just travel the muggle way. He thought he wanted to have some flowers for the grave so when he spotted a flower shop he went inside and bought a bouquet.

He apparated just outside the village. Thankfully it hadn't snowed yet. It would have been hard to erase traitorous footprints starting nowhere. He went inside the village and looked around. It seemed like a nice place to live. When he reached the war monument he had to look twice. It had changed. It now showed his parents and him as a baby. Harry felt a longing inside him he hadn't felt this intensely before. How much did he crave having a family. He then noticed that it was rather late and visiting the graveyard during night time wouldn't be the best idea. It would be better if he delayed his visit until tomorrow. For now he would look if he could find his parents' house. He wanted to know where they had lived.

He went through the streets and finally found the house. It was rather easy to determine that this was the right place as the roof was missing in one part of the building. That had to be where the killing curse had rebounded. Harry went closer and came upon a memorial. He began reading the inscription on the plaque.

_On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,  
__Lily and James Potter lost their lives.  
__Their only son, Harry, remains the only wizard  
__ever to have survived the Killing Curse.  
__This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left  
__in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters  
__and as a reminder of the violence  
__that tore apart their family._

Harry had tears in his eyes. This was making so much more real what had happened. The remarks others had left at the plaque also encouraged him. There were others hoping that Voldemort would be defeated. He thought he wanted to stay here at least for the night. Perhaps he could find anything useful in the house. He pushed the door handle of the gate down and was glad to see that he could enter the house. Inside the house he found that everything had been preserved. He suspected upstairs it would be different. There the weather had had access.

Harry left his backpack in the living room and slowly explored the house. At the ground floor he found the kitchen, a small bathroom, a storeroom and a guestroom. He then hesitantly went upstairs. It was clear from the visible destruction that his room had been on the right side of the house, so Harry first went to look through the rooms on the left. He found a study, a small room that had been used as a library and his parents' bedroom. In this room Harry spent the most time, taking in every little detail he could. The blankets were a dark purple and the pillows crème coloured. At the side was a big walk in closet. When he looked through it, he found several clothes of his parents.

They had a mixture of muggle clothes and wizarding robes. His father's old robes were nearly his size so he decided to take some of them with him. No need to waste money to get more robes if he had perfectly kept robes here. And it would spare him having to go shopping in the wizarding world for too long.

Finally he made his way over to the right side of the house. He found the bathroom where everything looked like the inhabitants of the house were just out grocery shopping. Even two toothbrushes stood side by side on a board over the sink. There were bottles of shampoo and aftershave on a shelf together with his mother's make-up. And there were some baby bathing toys like a rubber duck and a boat. Child's bath foam was also present.

The last room he entered was his nursery. He saw the destroyed crib first. Then he was hit with something he couldn't really put into words. It was like an imprint of the past. He felt like memories were forced onto him. Memories that didn't belong to him, but were trapped in this room where unimaginable evil had been attempted to be done. His breath felt constricted and he couldn't fight seeing the memories.

* * *

_The night wet and windy, two children dressed as pumpkins waddling across the square and the shop windows covered in paper spiders, in him that he always knew on these occasions ... Not anger ... that was for weaker souls than he ... but triumph, yes ... He had waited for this, he had hoped for it..._

_"Nice costume, mister!" _

_He saw the small boy's smile falter as he ran near enough to see beneath the hood of the cloak, saw the fear cloud his painted face: Then the child turned and ran away ... Beneath the robe he fingered the handle of his wand ... One simple movement and the child would never reach his mother ... but unnecessary, quite unnecessary..._ _And along a new and darker street he moved, and now his destination was in sight at last, the Fidelius Charm broken, though they did not know it yet..._

_And he made less noise than the dead leaves slithering along the pavement as he drew level with the dark hedge, and steered over it... They had not drawn the curtains; he saw them quite clearly in their little sitting room, the tall black-haired man in his glasses, making puffs of coloured smoke erupt from his wand for the amusement of the small black-haired boy in his blue pyjamas. The child was laughing and trying to catch the smoke, to grab it in his small fist...A door opened and the mother entered, saying words he could not hear, her long dark-red hair falling over her face. _

_Now the father scooped up the son and handed him to the mother. He threw his wand down upon the sofa and stretched, yawning... The gate creaked a little as he pushed it open, but James Potter did not hear. His white hand pulled out the wand beneath his cloak and pointed it at the door, which burst open. He was over the threshold as James came sprinting into the hall. It was easy, too easy, he had not even picked up his wand..._

_"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" _

_Hold him off, without a wand in his hand! ... He laughed before casting the curse... _

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_The green light filled the cramped hallway, it lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glow like lightning rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut... _

_He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear..._

_He climbed the steps, listening with faint amusement to her attempts to barricade herself in ... she had no wand upon her either ... how stupid they were, and how trusting, thinking that their safety lay in friends,_ _that weapons could be discarded even for moments... he forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand ... and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead..._

_"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" _

_"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now." _

_"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead."_

_"This is my last warning." _

_"Not Harry! Please ... have mercy ... have mercy ... Not Harry! Not Harry! Please - I'll do anything..." _

_"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!" _

_He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all..._

_The green light flashed around the room and she dropped like her husband. The child had not cried all this time. He could stand, clutching the bars of his crib, and he looked up into the intruder's face with a kind of bright interest, perhaps thinking that it was his father who hid beneath the cloak, making more pretty lights, and his mother would pop up any moment, laughing._

_He pointed the wand very carefully into the boy's face: He wanted to see it happen, the destruction of this one, inexplicable danger._ _The child began to cry: It had seen that he was not James. He did not like it crying, he had never been able to stomach the small ones whining in the orphanage – _

_"Avada Kedavra!" _

_And then he broke. He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped screaming, but far away ... far away ..._

* * *

And Harry knew. The moment the killing curse had rebounded on Voldemort had left an imprint of the event that had somehow latched upon him. Now he knew. He had seen through Voldemort's eyes how he had killed his parents.

Memories that even the dementors hadn't dug up in his third year came back, the voices of his father, mother and Voldemort. Of the times he had been happy here with them. How his mother sang him to sleep. How his father held him during a thunderstorm when he had been too afraid to sleep. He fell to the ground and began weeping; crying for the life that had been taken from him. He couldn't stay in this room. It was too painful. He finally managed to stand up again and closed the door behind him. He would sleep in the guest room downstairs. It was double the size of his room at Privet Drive.

Harry took some of the spare bedcovers and pillowcases from the cupboard downstairs and prepared the bed for the night. Some cleaning spells later and the room was ready to sleep in. When Harry lay down to sleep he felt the loneliness returning he had managed to ignore for the day. But he felt it at night. He wanted to have someone he could talk to, someone to bounce ideas off with, someone who would understand his problems. As much as he liked Ron and Hermione he knew they were the wrong people for this.

Hermione tended to think she always knew best. Ron just wanted to live a comfortable life. The only person he had ever felt really comfortable around to talk about his problems had been Ginny. She didn't pity him or tried to make him do things she thought would be best for him. With her being another victim of Voldemort, she knew sometimes you didn't want to talk and just have somebody with you. He took the marauder's map out and activated it. He longingly stared at the dot with her name, wishing she could be here with him. Finally he deactivated the map and tried to sleep.

* * *

**That's it for now. I hope you liked it. Till next time. Please leave some reviews. **


	3. Going Home

**Hi, here is the next chapter. Thanks to all of you who left me reviews. I am happy that you like my story so far. To those that asked me about the pairings; this will be Harry / Ginny. **

**This story is based on the Canon where Harry loves Ginny. From fifth year on he sees more in Ginny after she lost her fangirl behaviour. So to those that mentioned that he shouldn't be with her, tough luck. It wouldn't make any sense to pair him with another girl at this point in time. The only possibility would be introducing a new girl he meets during the mission, but I won't do that. The only other possibility would have been Hermione, but as I sent her away with Ron that's not going to happen. Especially not after how she behaved in HBP and the beginning of DH.**

**So now happy reading.**

* * *

**Going Home **

Things at the Burrow were tense. The twins had called for the members of The Order who were still free and alive. They had news to share. One after another people assembled under the cover of celebrating Bill's birthday. Otherwise it would be hard to explain such a big group gathering.

When everybody was there, Fred took out the letter Harry had left with them.

"We have good news." He said. "Harry is still alive and from what we could see as well as he could be."

This got relieved murmurs from the others.

"What I'd like to know, Ron and Hermione, is why did you leave him? You promised to help him to fulfil his mission. But you have been around for over a month. What the hell happened for you to abandon Harry?" George asked seriously.

All looks were at the questioned two now.

"It, it was all a big misunderstanding." Hermione said with hanging head.

"We have tried to find some things that have to be destroyed before we can kill You-Know-Who. Professor Dumbledore showed Harry memories last year about Tom Riddle's past so he could find them. But after an initial success we weren't getting anywhere. Ron and I thought that Harry didn't have a good plan and were disappointed. Then the one thing we had found made us act strange. We were all more stressed out. We didn't have much to eat and it increased the dark mood we were in. Then one evening we overheard a group that was also on the run, consisting of Ted Tonks, Dean Thomas, Dirk Cresswell and two goblins speaking about Ginny and the others trying to steal Gryffindor's sword from Snape's office.

"Harry and I thought it was encouraging and that the sword could probably help us if we could find the place where Professor Dumbledore had left it for Harry. You know in his will he wanted to leave it to Harry. But Ron, he had the most problems with our situation and the …" Hermione tried to say horcrux but couldn't do it.

"I can't say what it is. Something is blocking me." She said surprised.

"Perhaps Professor Dumbledore put a jinx on the word to keep the secrecy of the mission. Continue with what you can tell us." Bill said sternly, frowning at his youngest brother and Hermione.

"Okay, we took turns to wear the thing we found as we didn't want to risk losing it. But it had a bad influence. We felt so bad when we wore it. That evening it was Ron's turn and he complained to Harry and me about the situation and how we didn't care about Ginny being safe. We thought that having detention with Hagrid wasn't that bad. He overreacted due to the thing and accused Harry of horrible things. All the things that didn't work came together and for the first time ever I've seen Harry really angry. Not like back when we were at Grimmauld Place before fifth year, but really angry.

"They began to fight and I had to cast a _protego_ charm to stop them from fighting each other. Then Harry said Ron could go if he didn't want to stay and Ron ran out of the tent. I followed him to try and stop him, but I just managed to grab him when he disapparated. We talked and wanted to go back, but a group of snatchers caught us. Ron was injured and we decided to go to my grandmother's old house to take care of the wounds we both had and then return after calming down. We were really exhausted so we slept longer than normally. We just took time to have a late breakfast and then we returned to the place where we had stayed.

"We looked around for the tent but we couldn't find it. Harry had taken it and had already left. We looked at places we knew he wanted to visit. He had been going on about visiting Godric's Hollow for some time, even if I told him it would be a bad idea going there because Riddle could have placed a trap for him there." Hermione huffed.

"So let me get this straight, instead of returning during the night and at least letting Harry know that you'd return the next day, you simply left him. Or sending him a patronus message at least, I know that you both can do the charm and produce a corporeal patronus. I know you have the supplies in your enchanted bag Hermione. While that is a really good thing for transport, did Harry have anything left in the tent?" Remus asked.

Hermione looked ashamed.

"Not much. He had his invisibility cloak, the marauder's map and the things he had in his pouch from Hagrid. Those he never takes off from his body; otherwise, he had the equipment in the tent. Everything else was with me."

"Hermione, I really am disappointed with you. You're so smart but you still didn't think that Harry wouldn't have any other choice than moving to find something to eat or to change into. He had to think you left him for good with your behaviour. While I can understand that you first treated your wounds, you should have returned after that or at least got Harry. I know Harry well enough to know he wouldn't keep knowledge about such a mission like you got from those who were to help him."

"We know that now, but it was really hard out there." Ron said. "We never thought that one night away would have such results."

"This is such a mess. It all is based on a huge misunderstanding. But you really are the ones who are to fault for this. From what I understood, you talked about the problems on your mission behind Harry's back. How do you think he took that? Harry is too smart to not have noticed it early on." Remus said sadly.

Ron and Hermione looked at him disbelievingly.

"Don't look at me like that. I've been your teacher for a whole year and I got to know Harry pretty well during that time. I also know more about his parents than anybody else. He is a lot like Lily. He can hide his perceptiveness really well. I think that is a result from growing up like he did. Without that ability he wouldn't have been able to live with the Dursleys all those years. Knowing when to avoid his relatives was what kept him uninjured. Did you never question his guarded personality?" Remus asked.

If it was pointed out like that they felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.

"But Harry never showed his intelligence. We all knew he was powerful but he never really excelled at the theoretical parts of our classes." Hermione protested.

"Did you ever think about why that was the case? I noticed this tendency back in your third year when I found it strange that he was quick on the uptake on practical spells but he couldn't write a proper essay. I kept him behind in class one day and asked him about it. He looked scared to have been caught. I finally managed to get out of him that if he did better in school than his cousin, his aunt and uncle would punish him for showing up Dudley.

"Since then it was ingrained in his behaviour that he couldn't do well. It had gone on for years, probably his whole primary school time. Those ingrained patters were not easy to break up for Harry, especially as he didn't want to lose both your friendship. He never had any friends growing up and he would have done anything to keep yours, even if it meant staying behind you Hermione to not make you mad about not being the best in class or being too studious to make Ron believe he was a nerd."

"But why would he think that we would abandon him if he did well at school?" Hermione asked.

"I think because he knew you better than you did yourself." George said realizing the truth in Remus' words.

"Yes, Harry talked to us last Christmas and told us how you were mad at him for being so good at Potions suddenly just because he used that old Potions book Slughorn gave him." Fred added.

"But it wasn't the official text, he was cheating." Hermione said stubbornly.

"Bullshit, Hermione and you know it." George interrupted fiercely slamming his hand flat on the table.

"Do you really think we would be as good at what we do as we're if we just followed the books? Potions is about the reactions of different ingredients with each other. How you prepare them and brew the potion will have very different results. Don't you think we experimented a lot to get the results we wanted? We couldn't depend on Snape teaching us that, prejudiced git that he is. We needed to pick up the information from several books in the library or by experimenting. The book, after it had been proven how much better the results of the methods described there were, could have been a treasure of knowledge for our side. But thanks to your stupid belief in authority and books being gospel you strained your friendship with Harry again." Fred ranted.

"Harry offered you to share the knowledge of the book, but you were too dense to take his offer. The same is true for you Ron. You could have put in the effort to copy the additional parts to get better yourself. Hell, you could have asked Harry if he would dictate it for you. He wouldn't have minded and done it in an instant. I know you have a problem with jealousy but you have to get over it. We're at war and we can't afford to be divided by such petty, childish grudges. Look where it has led you. You abandoned your best friend. A friend who has done everything for you time and again. A friend who saved both your lives." George added.

"You have argued about his leadership and his lack of a plan, well from what you told us, you didn't have one either. And in life you can't expect everything to go to plan all the time." Both twins finished.

* * *

Harry awoke in his bed and was wondering where he was for a short time when his memories of the day before came back. He was at home. The first home he had ever had in his parents' house. He climbed out of his bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. The first hot shower he had had for some time. He loved magical houses. The applications didn't work on electricity and gas, so the non-paid bills, wouldn't result in cutting the energy. He then dressed and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast. He had decided that he would eat as much as he wanted today as he had planned to visit the graves and that would probably spoil his appetite afterwards.

After eating some bacon, eggs and toast, he quickly did the dishes and put them back into the cupboards. He then took his backpack, his invisibility cloak and his mokeskin pouch and put them on. He put his warm cloak on and then left the house using the invisibility cloak. It wouldn't be good if anybody saw him leaving a house that was supposed to be a monument. He slipped out unnoticed and then took off the invisibility cloak in a side alley. He then walked openly towards the graveyard.

He had learned one thing during his run from the Ministry. There was no better way to hide than doing it in plain sight; and with his new hair-colour and contacts, very little reminded of Harry Potter. His slightly longer hair also helped hiding the typical Potter hair. Harry had asked Kreacher to trim it so that it looked like he had been raised by a pureblood family if anybody ever recognized him as a strange figure.

He reached the gates of the graveyard without problem and looked at the little church that was beside it. He wondered if his parents would have taken him there if they hadn't been murdered. He slowly walked through the rows of graves looking for the one of his parents. He came upon several names he knew from schoolmates of his like Abbott. Then he saw a name he didn't expect here. This was the grave of Dumbledore's mother and sister. At least if you could believe the things Muriel had told at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Harry went on looking for his parents' grave. Finally he found it. Made of white marble the tombstone was standing out against the others on the neighbouring graves. Harry read the words engraved on it:

_James Potter, born 27 March 1960, died 31 October 1981_

_Lily Potter, born 30 January 1960, died 31 October 1981_

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

Harry barely held back his tears and took the bouquet he had bought the day before and put under a stasis spell and placed it on the grave. He tried to take in the last line and lost his flimsy control over his feelings. Death couldn't be destroyed. His parents were gone and nothing could bring them back to him. He was alone; he had lost the only people who had unconditionally loved him. First his parents who died to protect him, then Sirius, who had been the closest thing he had ever known to a father. While the Weasleys were great, he regarded Mr and Mrs Weasley as kind of a favourite aunt and uncle.

"Mum, Dad, I'm finally here. But I miss you so much. I'm all alone and can't contact anybody because I'd place them in danger. I don't know if I can really finish the job Dumbledore gave me, it's so hard. How can I beat the one who killed so many people? He has decades of experience on me. I wish I had someone to keep me company, someone to talk to, but I know I'm selfish. Any person being with me would be a target. I don't want anybody else get hurt because of me again.

"I'll try to finish it. I'll find the damn horcruxes to be able to kill him, but it is so hard. Even Ron and Hermione left me alone, they promised to help me, but they just left me alone in a tent with no supplies in the rain. I'm so glad that Kreacher helped me understand some things you'd have taught me growing up if you had only lived. I miss you so much.

"Whenever I see a family with a child I can't help but envy the child, wishing I had had parents while growing up. Everybody expects me to be the saviour, but I'm just Harry; a kid who is good at flying and Defence against the Dark Arts. I'm no genius; Hermione always beats me at tests. But I've revised the spells I should have learned long before. I was so stupid not to put more effort in my studies but other things always seemed so much more important. They shouldn't have been but I thought they were."

Harry wiped away the tears from his eyes.

"I love you both. I wish I could have met you. I don't know if I'm worthy of your sacrifice, but I'll try my best to end this war." He whispered before turning around and nearly fleeing the graveyard before anything could make him break down completely.

When he passed the gates of the graveyard he heard shouting and evil laughter. He went into the direction and saw a man clothed in the traditional priest garment trying to shield something, probably a small animal against a group of youths who obviously had harmed the animal. The youths were laughing and mocking the priest. Harry didn't like that kind of behaviour and decided to help the priest. During his time at Privet Drive he had also brushed up on his fighting skills using Dudley's punching bag in the basement.

"Leave him alone!" He coldly said, magically enhancing the effect his voice had on those of weak mind.

The youths turned around and looked at Harry like he was a ghost first. Then one of them, a red haired boy about fifteen sneered at him.

"Oh and what do you think you can do?" He said jeering.

Harry let more of his magical aura show and he used a wordless spell to cool down the air around the youths.

"I can make you wish you never even thought about bullying an innocent animal. I can make you wish you were decent human beings. I can make you wish to not have challenged me. Stronger men than you have made that mistake and they all have come to regret crossing me." He said, making his eyes glow with power, frightening the youths further.

"Now you'll apologize to the priest and then go home. Never harm any living being again. Be sure I'llfind out and it will not be pretty for you." He ordered.

The youths hastily apologized to the priest and ran away as if the devil was after them. Harry turned to the priest and let completely go of his aura.

"Are you okay, Father?" He asked with a much kinder voice.

"Yes, my son, thank you for your help. I fear they have lost their way and forgot that if you treat others badly it'll one day fall back on you. I'm Father Robert by the way." He introduced himself.

Harry thought if he should tell his real name. He didn't want to be found but he had also had ingrained into his being that you didn't lie to clerics. He finally decided since the man was a muggle he wouldn't know about the war in the wizarding world.

"I'm Harry Potter, nice to meet you." He said.

"Harry Potter you say, you sure have grown since I last saw you. That must have been about seventeen years ago. It was the day you were christened; late in September 1980 in this very church. Your parents were so proud to have you and I could see they loved you deeply. I was the priest to preside your christening you know. But back then you had the black hair of your father." He said fondly.

"Really?" Harry said hopeful to find out more about his parents.

"Oh yes, your mother Lily was really happy to have you. She was radiating with joy and love for you. Everybody could see it clearly. The same was true for your father James. They were wonderful people; always friendly with the other villagers when they were outside with you. I liked talking with your father before they had to retreat from the public due to your father's dangerous job. From what we heard after they died, a man he had chased in his work as a policeman came and killed them in retaliation. It was a very sad day, especially for you. Where have you lived the past sixteen years if you don't mind me asking, Harry?"

"I don't mind. I lived with my mother's sister. She didn't like my mother and she even told me lies about my parents because she was jealous of her. My godfather was framed for a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison, so he couldn't take care of me like they had wanted him to do." Harry explained. "Today is the first day I could come to visit their graves."

"I understand. It's always hard to lose one's parents, especially for one as young as you were. Feel free to visit them whenever you feel like it. It helps finding peace for some. So, now I have to help this poor little dog healing from the injuries those boys inflicted on it."

Harry now saw the little dog properly and nearly choked. There in front of him lay a black puppy that looked a lot like a Grim. He knelt down next to it and gently stroked his fur.

"How can somebody do that to an innocent animal?" He asked sadly.

"I don't know; the only thing I can do is trying to help this poor little one." Father Robert said.

"Can I help too?" Harry asked not knowing why he asked, it just felt right.

"Sure, my son. If you'd take him inside, I can prepare the things I'll need to treat the wounds."

Harry carefully lifted the puppy from the ground and cradled it in his arms. He followed Father Robert inside the little house beside the church where he was asked to sit down with the puppy and wait. Soon Father Robert came back with a bowl of water and some bandages. He began to clean the wounds and both men saw that the puppy was in worse condition than they had originally thought.

"Oh my, this is not good; I don't know if I'll be able to save him." Father Robert said sadly.

No, Harry wouldn't let this happen. He wouldn't let anybody else die if he could prevent it, even if it was only an animal. Father Robert finished cleaning the wounds and bandaged them.

"We'll have to wait if he survives. It's all in God's hands now." He said.

"Can I take him with me and look after him?" Harry asked hopefully.

He didn't want to let Father Robert see him doing magic and he would try to heal the puppy with some healing spells he had learned from a book Kreacher had gotten him from Grimmauld Place. Even if the Blacks were dark, they still had knowledge how to heal for members of their family.

"I you truly wish to do so." Father Robert agreed.

"Yes, I do. I'll take care of him and nurse him back to health." He stated confidently.

"Then I'll give you my blessing. I really hope he'll recover."

"Thank you, Father Robert. Perhaps you could sometime tell me a bit about my parents." Harry said.

"Sure, Harry. I'll gladly do so." The priest said smiling.

"I'll go home now, good bye, Father Robert." Harry took his leave.

"Be with God, Harry." The priest bade him farewell.

* * *

Harry arrived at his parent's home and went inside. He quickly put the puppy on a blanket on the floor in the living room. He took out his wand and used a basic diagnostic charm. To his utmost surprise the dog was magical.

"This is good. If you're magical I've more options to help you." Harry said happily to the puppy.

The small dog weakly lifted his head and licked Harry's hand. Harry smiled. He would save the little dog. And then he would keep him. He wanted a companion and the dog seemed to call out to him. Harry undid the bandages gently and used _episkey_, the spell Tonks had once used to heal his nose to close the minor wounds. For the others he additionally used a bit of dittany to get them to close up. Soon all the wounds had closed and Harry's new dog didn't lose any more blood.

Harry then used a pipette to feed the little dog some blood replenishing potion that he had diluted with water to make it usable for the dog.

"Hm, you'll need a name, little one. After all you'll stay with me from now on." Harry pondered.

The dog tried to lift his head but was too tired to really succeed. Harry gently stroked his head, careful to not touch any of the freshly healed wounds. He didn't want to hurt his dog.

"You look like you could be a Grim, perhaps you are one, I never really gave much on the superstitions those believing in divination had. Hagrid said that most magical creatures that have bad reputations are mostly misunderstood. While Hagrid may be not the most reliable source of information he has been right before. Thestrals are certainly not bringers of bad luck. So I can imagine Grims are not omens of death either."

Then his puppy began to shiver.

Harry was worried. He didn't know that much about healing of animals.

"I wish I had Fawkes here, his tears would surely help you." Harry said and much to his surprise the phoenix appeared, holding four books on his talons.

"Fawkes!" Harry called out surprised, happy to see the bird that had disappeared after Dumbledore's death.

Fawkes trilled friendly and landed on Harry's shoulder, dropping the books in Harry's lap. The bird rubbed his head on Harry's.

"I'm happy to see you too, my friend. Are you here to help me again?" Harry asked hopefully.

The trill he got in response was confirming his question.

"Thank you. I've found this magical puppy but he was badly injured. I've done what I can, but he seems to have a fever or something else. Can you help me heal him? I don't want him to die. I can feel a bond with him somehow." Harry explained.

Fawkes gave a soothing trill and flew over to the puppy. It was as if he made his own diagnose of the puppy's condition. Finally he looked Harry in the eyes and Harry had pictures flashing in his mind. Was that how phoenixes communicated? Through some kind of telepathy?

"You want me to fill a small bowl with water so you can cry into it, then I'm to put a drop of my blood into it and give it to him with the pipette?" Harry asked to confirm his information.

Fawkes trilled positively.

Harry followed the instructions of the phoenix. He took the smallest bowl he could find and filled it with water, Fawkes let three tears drop into the bowl and Harry pricked his left thumb with a needle and let one drop of blood fall into the mix. He then watched as Fawkes glowed and obviously heated the mixture a bit. The three parts mixed and Harry took a pipette and filled it with the mixture.

"Does he have to take all of it?" He asked Fawkes and the phoenix nodded his head.

Harry fed the fluid to his dog in small doses until the bowl was empty. He was relieved when he saw that the shivering had stopped and that his dog now breathed easily in his sleep.

"Thank you so much Fawkes. I don't know what I'd have done without your help." Harry said gratefully.

His eyes then fell onto the books Fawkes had brought with him. Harry read the titles. A black leather bound journal, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, The Deathly Hallows, Myth or Reality? and The Darkest Arts, the same book Hermione had shown them at the Burrow from where she had most of the information about horcruxes.

"Thanks for the books Fawkes, now I can perhaps find a way to destroy the horcruxes as I don't know where the sword of Gryffindor is currently." Harry said.

Then he thought of something. Last time it had been Fawkes who had brought the sorting hat to him and he had pulled the sword out of the hat. Perhaps he could also help him to find the sword now.

"Do you by any chance know where the sword is at the moment Fawkes?" Harry asked.

Fawkes just trilled and pointedly looked at the black journal. Harry understood it as a hint that the answer to his question would be found in the journal. As he had a lot of time to kill until his puppy, which he still had to find a proper name for, got better and he didn't have to be in London for some weeks as Bellatrix would be there on the first December, he settled down on the couch, took the book and began reading.

* * *

In the Gryffindor common room the mood was subdued. While nobody would give up on their resistance it was hard to ignore their hungry stomachs. And the smug looks of the Slytherins who were of course exempt from the punishment. They were all sure if there was a choice for them, Voldemort would only have the Slytherins been taught here. All the others would have transferred to Beauxbatons. But they couldn't just sneak down to the kitchen to get food either. While it pained the house elves, they had been ordered not to give students food outside of the meals.

"This is getting annoying to no end." Seamus said to the others.

Ginny, Parvati and Neville nodded. They were the core of the resistance in Gryffindor house. The house had been emptier than ever before because of the blood status laws. Every house except Slytherin had lost members to the stupid rule. And from what they had read in the prophet the evil bitch Umbridge was chucking all muggleborns she could find into Azkaban.

"If only there was a way to get all of us the food we should get for dinner." Parvati said. "Our parents are paying for it after all."

"It's a joke that this is allowed to happen. I'm just glad that Harry seems to be good at evading them till now. The mood would be hopelessly dark if he wasn't still out there. We can only do our best to prevent Hogwarts to fall before he has done whatever he needs to do and then we'll fight against them openly." Neville said confidently.

The others smiled. Neville had really changed from the shy and timid boy he had once been to the confident and smart leader of the resistance he was now.

They heard a pop and directly in front of them stood Kreacher.

"Kreacher?" Ginny asked surprised.

"Yes, Miss Ginny. Kreacher has come to help students as Master Harry said Kreacher should do."

"Is this Harry's house elf?" Seamus asked interested.

Ginny nodded.

"Kreacher, is Harry alright?" She asked worried.

"Master Harry is healed from bad cold and is doing his mission. Kreacher doesn't know where Master is now, but Kreacher has mission from Master to help students against greasy git headmaster and evil Death Eater teachers." The elf said.

"Could you get some food for the students of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor without the Carrows and Snape finding out?" Neville asked.

"Kreacher can, young Master. Other house elves can't help as they are bound to castle, but Kreacher is proud elf of Master Harry, he'll help. Kreacher will place food in common room."

"Kreacher, thank you so much. I don't know what we'd do without your help." Ginny said happily.

"Kreacher is good house elf and follows his Master's orders." Kreacher said and disapparated.

"Wow, this'll help us a lot. Now we don't have to worry about not getting food. I'm really glad that Harry sent his elf to make sure we have food. Perhaps he can also get us potions from the hospital wing or Slughorn's lab." Neville said relieved.

"Yes, and it's also good to know that Harry is still working against Tom out there. But I wonder why Kreacher didn't mention Ron or Hermione." Ginny wondered.

* * *

**That's it. I hope you liked it. Till next time.**


	4. A New Pet

**Hi, here is my weekly update. I'm going to get Harry involved in the fight now. How? You will need to read that for yourselves. Thanks to all those that left reviews for this story.**

**The usual disclaimer: I own nothing of HP.**

**Happy reading.**

* * *

**A New Pet**

Remus sat next to his wife, holding her in his arms. The message Harry left with the twins was reassuring that he was well, but otherwise he was really concerned for the boy because he was now on his own. How could Ron and Hermione have left Harry at the time he needed them most? It was all such a great mess. Why did Dumbledore think that one boy with the help of only two other young adults, who normally would still be attending Hogwarts, would be able to defeat Voldemort? Why did he place that burden on Harry's shoulders?

"You're thinking about Harry again." Tonks said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, Dora. I just don't understand how they could have left him alone. How Dumbledore could have made him bear this burden alone. Harry is strong, but he's still only one person. Riddle has hundreds at his commands. While it's easier to stay under the radar for one person, how could Dumbledore expect Harry to do everything alone?"

"I don't know; I don't understand it either. I wish we could help him, at least give him information or medical help. I wish we could do something. I don't know how Dad is. We haven't heard from him since he fled. Mum is going spare and we can't go out much either because they'd try to kill us. Bellatrix made it clear that she wants you and me dead for us daring to marry and 'sully' the Black name. As if it wasn't already sullied by their behaviour." Tonks snorted.

Remus kissed her. He was so glad that he had been able to save his marriage. He was so grateful to Harry for having set him straight before he could throw away the greatest gift he had ever received.

"How was your check-up?" He asked her.

"The baby is healthy and is developing well." Tonks said smiling, holding her belly happily.

"They won't be able to determine if it's a boy or a girl until the fifth month though."

"It doesn't matter to me; I'll love the baby equally if it is a boy or a girl. I just want you and the little one to be okay." He said.

"We'll be, Mum and Poppy are sure all will go well." She assured him.

"I love you, Dora, I'm so sorry that I've been an idiot." He seriously apologized.

"I love you too, Remus. Just don't even think of doubting us again, you won't like the consequences." She playfully threatened him.

Remus just kissed her again.

* * *

Harry was baffled what he read in Dumbledore's journal. The old man had once been friends with Gellert Grindelwald and they had searched for the so called Deathly Hallows. He realized that this was the reason Dumbledore had had his father's cloak. He had suspected it to be one of the Hallows. He just couldn't believe that Dumbledore had once wanted to rule over the muggles and had only been pulled out of his funk when his sister Ariana had died without him knowing if it had been him or Grindelwald who threw the curse.

He was sorry for Dumbledore to have lost his mother and sister in such a way. But how could he expect for him (Harry) to fulfil his mission if even he hadn't been able to withstand the lure of power in his youth? Then there was his oversight on the rising of Tom Riddle. While he had been suspecting that Tom was drifting into the Dark Arts, he hadn't really done anything at school to counter it. But that wasn't only his fault; the whole staff had been charmed by the charismatic Slytherin who had grown from a no name orphan to one of the most gifted students. If anybody was at fault it was the magical community that allowed for magical children to grow up in muggle facilities where they could be abused and ostracized until they acted out, which of course was punished again.

Harry had also read the Tale of the three Brothers from the Beadle book. It was interesting to find out how true history was kept alive in children's stories. What Harry was most upset about was that Dumbledore didn't tell Harry anything of all this when he was still alive. It had been a really big chance that Fawkes had decided to come to Harry and bring him all this information. Or had Dumbledore planned for this as well?

The information about Gryffindor's sword he had been looking for was at the end of Dumbledore's journal, which made sense since Harry had only pulled it out of the hat in his second year at Hogwarts. They had deducted right that the sword was imbued with basilisk venom and therefore able to destroy horcruxes. The thing Harry didn't understand in Dumbledore's reasoning was why the hell he should be forced to earn the sword again under duress. He had already proven himself worthy of the allegiance of the sword and Dumbledore had been able to use it to destroy the ring horcrux without ever winning it.

That conclusion of the headmaster didn't make any sense at all. Any worthy Gryffindor was able to call upon the help of the sword. Perhaps that could work. Could it be as simple as that? Just call the sword to him? Harry decided to try it later when he had read all the books. He didn't want to overlook important information. That could prove fatal in his current situation.

He was pulled from his reading when his dog began stirring and woke up. Harry smiled. He was glad that the puppy was out of danger and would just need to regain strength again. He had also found out that the puppy was now his familiar as a similar process of bonding had been described in Dumbledore's journal. And Harry was pretty sure that the puppy truly was a Grim. The journal had mentioned that the descendants of Ignotus Peverell, who had been the recipient of the Cloak of Invisibility, were often accompanied by the 'Protector of Spirits', which was the original name of the Grim. Again one of the superstitions of wizards was giving a perfectly good creature a bad name.

Grims were normally found around graveyards. As that was weird to people, rumours started that Grims were ghost hounds and haunted at the graveyards. They didn't haunt there, they protected the rest of the dead while keeping evil spirits and grave-robbers away. The connection of the Peverell family with death made them natural companions for these magical dogs.

Harry therefore decided to give his puppy the name of a protector and guide.

"How do you like the name Anubis?" He asked his puppy. Anubis was from the Egyptian Mythology and a god with the head of a dog. He was called the escort of souls there. Harry thought the name was fitting for his little Grim.

The puppy yipped happily and tried to toddle over to Harry, but his legs weren't strong enough yet to support his weight again. Harry decided to just lift him from the floor and scratched his newly named puppy behind the ears, which it really enjoyed. Harry was happy to have a companion again. He would never be able to replace his beloved owl Hedwig, but he would be happy with Anubis as well. And dogs were said to be loyal until death.

* * *

Hermione sat on her bed in a guest room of shell cottage thinking hard. She had just barely escaped arrest by the Ministry thanks to a timely warning to the Burrow. She and Ron had disapparated just a minute before the inspectors from the Ministry had searched the house. Obviously that was a common occurrence with those who were suspected to help Harry Potter, the Undesirable Number One. Hermione didn't have any illusions what would happen to her if she was caught. First the Death Eaters would torture and interrogate her and then she would be killed. Or she would be given to Umbridge to be put on trial with the Muggleborn Registration Commission.

Neither prospect was encouraging. If Ron was found out the most they could do was force him to attend Hogwarts. He had a good enough cover to be perhaps spared. She hadn't really realized just how dangerous life for a muggleborn was at the moment in Britain. And she didn't want to endanger the Weasleys with staying with them all the time. Perhaps next time they wouldn't get a warning and they would be arrested as well for collaborating with a muggleborn.

She didn't want to leave, she wanted to be of use in the war against Voldemort, but at the moment she couldn't do anything here. She couldn't even hide in the muggle world as she wouldn't be able to escape the snatchers indefinitely. After all, if it would be as easy as that, Ted Tonks would have done it before. And he was still on the run from what they had been told by Remus and Tonks.

Her best option would be to leave the country for a while. She knew from the Weasleys that most muggleborn had been smuggled out of the country or had left early on when the direction the new regime was going to became clear. Hermione was no fool. This was terribly similar to the persecution of Jews in World War II. But understanding it didn't mean she had to like it. Her best chance was perhaps Beauxbatons at the moment. She would be able to finish her last year of schooling, get her NEWTs and work from France or another country to gain support for the fight against Voldemort. She would speak with Ron what he wanted to do.

* * *

Harry sat on his bed in his home with a big shit eating grin, Anubis was rolled up at the end of his bed, sleeping. He had finally finished reading all the books Fawkes had brought him and he had found nothing that would prevent him from calling Gryffindor's sword. And the sword had come to him. Obviously as long as nobody else had claimed the sword for himself by proving his worth as a true Gryffindor, the sword responded to the last one to successfully use it in a fight. That meant for the moment he was the rightful owner of the sword. His first action had been to finally destroy the locket.

He had thought about how Slytherin would secure his personal locket and wanted to hit himself for not thinking about Parseltongue earlier. Perhaps it was the fact that he had always relied on Hermione too much that he hadn't thought of it earlier. Interestingly Anubis had growled at the piece of soul that had tried to ensnare Harry with glowing eyes and the projection that Voldemort had put into place as a protection for his horcrux had been frozen stiff and Harry had had no problem with stabbing the locket. Harry suspected it was one of the powers Grims had to protect others from evil spirits.

The Darkest Arts was pretty informative about other ways to destroy a horcrux. Fiendfire was working but it was very hard to control. If it got out of control it could destroy pretty much everything, so Harry didn't want to use it. Basilisk venom was a given, for living horcruxes (like Nagini) the Avada Kedavra worked or a cutting curse to a vital point. Harry had a pretty nice impression of shooting _sectumsempra_ at the snake from a distance in his head.

Harry had decided to look around the village if he could find out more about his parents. He also wanted to know more about the magical community here. So the morning Anubis was fit enough to take a little walk around the village, Harry got both of them out of the house under his invisibility cloak which he hid under his coat when he was in an empty alley. The sky was grey and full of dark clouds. With the temperatures having fallen under the freezing point Harry was pretty sure there would soon be snow falling. Anubis ran a few meters in front of Harry, exploring his surroundings. Harry had to smile at the excited puppy.

Harry walked around the village for three hours before he decided to visit Father Robert again. He wanted to show him how well Anubis had recovered.

"Come on boy, let's visit Father Robert. I'm sure he will be happy to see you healed." Harry said, getting an agreeing bark from Anubis.

Harry was really glad to have his dog. He was keeping his loneliness at bay. Harry was pretty sure Anubis understood every word Harry said. Harry still wished he had Ron and Hermione back, but those two had made their decisions and now he had to go on. The whole wizarding world of Great Britain depended on the destruction of Voldemort's horcruxes. And if he wasn't stopped, Harry didn't doubt he would try and conquer Europe after he had absolute control here. That Harry wouldn't allow, even if it meant he had to give up a normal life. Well, he never had had one, so that wasn't that much of a sacrifice.

When he neared the church, he suddenly heard cries of pain. Then he saw lights and immediately knew this was a Death Eater attack. Harry slipped into a side alley and put his invisibility cloak on. Then he went on looking what was happening and if he could help against the Death Eaters. What he saw was horrible. The Death Eaters had captured a group of muggles and were torturing them at the place before the church.

"Look here, this is all you're good for filthy muggles, entertainment for the true rulers of our country." One of the attackers shouted gleefully.

Harry was fuming. But the numbers were against him and he couldn't expect the other witches and wizards in the village to come to his aid. Then he saw something he hadn't thought possible. It was such a good opportunity. With the group was Nagini. Perhaps she was spying for Voldemort how the raid was going. Harry thought hard how to get the snake. Such a good chance would probably never come again. Then he had a crazy idea.

"Anubis, I need your help. I'll see how far superstitions in the wizarding world go. I'll give my debut as the Reaper." Harry said to his dog and Anubis nodded.

Harry took a plain black hooded cloak and black leather gloves out of his backpack and put them over the invisibility cloak. Under his invisibility cloak he wore the green and silver shield scarf. The long cloak gave him a form but the invisibility cloak hid anything else that could have been used to identify him.

Then Anubis surprised Harry again by growing into his adult form. A few flashes in Harry's mind told him that Anubis would be able to temporarily hold this form. Both of them slowly walked up to the place and Harry held his wand hidden under the sleeves of the cloak. Immediately the fight stopped with the Death Eaters not believing their eyes at the moment. There was the impersonation of death walking up to them. No face under the hood, black leather gloved hands holding a sword in them. And to top it, a Grim walking at the side of death.

Harry didn't say a word, he just walked holding Gryffindor's sword in his left hand. His target was Nagini. But nobody would realize that before it was too late. He couldn't afford for her to disappear again. He finally was near enough to hit with his spell.

Harry lifted his right arm, pointing at the snake.

"_Sectumsempra._" He whispered quietly enough to prevent the Death Eaters from hearing him.

The curse shot out of his wand, which the Death Eaters couldn't see. For them he had just used wandless magic. The spell hit spot on. Nagini's head was cut off as the main hit landed on her neck. All on her body cuts appeared that made the hit look even worse. Harry saw black mist disappearing from her body and knew the horcrux was destroyed. Then Harry began using the sword. He had practiced a bit at home how to swing the sword without getting hurt. He knew with this sword he just needed one cut on a person to kill them. Thankfully the Death Eaters didn't know it.

Harry cut through the group of Death Eaters using their shock to surprise them. He soon had put cuts on all but one member of the group. Harry calculated the time the venom would need to take effect and when he had mentally counted to the point, the Death Eaters had tried to curse him after the first stupor had vanished, but the scarf and a soundless _protego_ took care of them, making Harry look even more mysterious, being immune against hostile spell-fire, he made a gesture of cutting a throat with his gloved hand.

The first Death Eaters began to fall to the ground dead. The others soon followed. The one Death Eater that hadn't been cut by the sword panicked and used a portkey to get away. He would report to Voldemort, no doubt about the Reaper taking sides in the conflict.

Harry decided to just leave the place and leave the clean-up to the Ministry. While they might be corrupted, they still didn't want to expose the wizarding world to the muggles. That would be plain stupid. Harry went to Anubis, who had stood between the muggles and the Death Eaters and produced a kind of shield to block stray curses. When he saw Harry coming Anubis dropped the shield and went to be scratched behind the ears. Harry did so and mentioned to his dog to follow him. When he was out of sight, Anubis shrunk and Harry lifted him up and disapparated.

* * *

"Have you heard; there was a Death Eater attack at Godric's Hollow!" Bill shouted through the house, calling Fleur, Ron and Hermione to him.

The other three soon joined him in the kitchen.

"What exactly happened, Bill?" Ron asked.

"Well, a group of fifteen Death Eaters attacked the muggles in Godric's Hollow. It was probably a plot to make the village a purely wizard village like Hogsmeade is. But when they were torturing a group of muggles in front of the church there, a figure that looked like the Reaper appeared. He calmly walked up to the group from what eye witnesses told the Ministry clean-up team. There were some wizards and witches in the crowd around but they didn't dare to oppose the Death Eaters. This Reaper was accompanied by a Grim. The Reaper took care of the Death Eaters while the Grim protected the muggles.

"The Reaper first killed Voldemort's snake that was with the Death Eaters, probably to spy for Voldemort like it did when it bit Dad at the Ministry. He just lifted his arm and pointed it at the snake whose head fell of separated and whose body was littered with cuts all over. Then the Reaper used the stupor of the Death Eaters and went through them with a shining sword. None of the cuts he dealt them was deadly but then suddenly he motioned with his hand like cutting a throat and all but one Death Eater fell to the ground dead. The remaining Death Eater immediately portkeyed away. The Reaper and the Grim left the scene and just vanished."

Fleur, Ron and Hermione were shocked. How could somebody kill Death Eaters that easily?

"Did anybody see the Reaper's face?" Hermione asked.

"There was no face, the hood was empty. That's the reason they all think that death itself is mad at Riddle. They see this as a good sign that something will finally be done to his reign of terror." Bill said.

Then Hermione seemed to have noticed something.

"Bill, did you say the Reaper first killed Riddle's snake?" She asked.

"Yes, and without a wand to boot. The only thing he held in his hands was the sword. But blimey if I know how a cut with a sword can kill a person like what I've been told."

"Ron, do you know what this means?" Hermione ranted.

"Yes, Harry's job got easier, he seems to have an ally who's hunting the same things he is." Ron realized.

"You don't think it could be Harry?" She asked.

"No, Harry wouldn't just kill Death Eaters. He is strictly against killing. He doesn't want to stoop as low as Riddle. And remember, he doesn't have a Grim. Only death can gain the loyalty of a Grim. It's an omen of death after all." Ron stated.

"Nonsense!" Fleur interrupted.

"I don't know why you British alwayz insist on mizunderstanding magical creatures. A Grim eez a protector of spirits and eez only found around graveyards because eet keeps evil spirits away. It also eez a guide of the souls of zose who died." She explained.

"But you agree that Harry wouldn't just kill the Death Eaters?" Hermione asked.

"Per'aps, but we don't know what 'as 'appened to 'im while 'e was alone. Per'aps 'e thinks zat zey should be punished for zeir crimes and zat ze Ministry isn't doing a good job."

"Was the snake one of the things that you can't tell us the name of and what it really is?" Bill asked, getting nods from both Ron and Hermione.

"Interesting. We'll have to see what happens now. I just hope Voldemort doesn't go on a rampage for this."

* * *

Harry sat on the couch in his living room, his limbs shaking terribly and he couldn't get them to stop. He knew he had done what was necessary, but he felt so dirty. He had killed the Death Eaters in cold blood. His stomach ached from him vomiting all the things he had had inside it into the loo; which he had just barely reached in time. Anubis sensing the emotional uproar his companion was in, jumped onto his legs and began licking his face. Harry held the little Grim careful not to hurt him, but he needed to feel something alive to be sure he wasn't dying himself, because part of his soul felt like it was dying at the moment.

"Anubis, what have I done? I killed them … I just killed them. I know they deserved it, … but I killed them." Harry babbled.

Fawkes, who was still keeping them company, began singing a soothing song. Slowly Harry got back from his trembling. Both animals seemed to know that what he needed most was a dreamless sleep for now, so Fawkes flew over to Harry's backpack to get it for Harry. He lifted it from the ground and carried it over to Harry. Then he trilled, making Harry look up and sent a message to Harry what to take.

"You want me to take a dreamless sleep potion, Fawkes?" He asked.

A positive trill was his answer. Harry trusted the phoenix and summoned one from the backpack. He turned to Anubis.

"Please just stay with me while I sleep. I don't want to be alone." He begged his dog, getting a positive yip and a lick over his face as his answer.

Harry opened the vial and downed the potion. Soon he was fast asleep on the couch.

* * *

The Daily Prophet was keeping things under wraps as it was commanded, but that didn't mean Potterwatch and the Quibbler were doing the same. All over Britain people were discussing the appearance of the Reaper to kill Voldemort's Death Eaters and his pet snake in Godric's Hollow. Many speculations were made why the death bringer had decided to intervene in the war. Even the students at Hogwarts had heard about it and were secretly talking about it.

"I think whoever it is, is doing the right thing." Neville stated. "I mean we've seen in the past that just stunning the Death Eaters didn't work. They don't have any hesitations to torture and kill. If somebody has the power to kill them before they kill innocents, I can't find anything wrong with it. At the moment we don't even have a prison that would hold them as they're in control of the country. People die in wars; that's the sad truth. And I'd rather have it that those who try to actively kill others die than those that just want to live their lives in peace."

"But I thought Professor Dumbledore always said that people deserve a second chance." Parvati argued.

"Well, that might be right for those that made a terrible mistake and are truly sorry for what they did. But people like Bellatrix Lestrange or Antonin Dolohov are not sorry. They like inflicting pain and killing people. Better they die than others. Who I'm worried about is the Reaper if he isn't truly a Reaper." Ginny said.

"What do you mean?" Seamus asked.

"I don't really know but I feel something strange, as if a part of me was dying. I feel I'm needed somewhere but I can't be there to help. I don't know what this feeling is." She answered.

They all thought hard but nobody found an answer for Ginny's strange feelings.

* * *

**That's it for today. I thought that Harry while defending others would be able to kill, especially after realizing that a war couldn't be won with stunners and that Dumbledore's philosophy had failed him massively before. I hope you liked it.**


	5. Rescue Mission

**Hi, i'm back with the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews. To those that ranted about my choice of pairing, well, you don't have to read the story then. There are more than enough other stories. And I think that just because the relationship wasn't described more thoroughly in the last three books, it doesn't mean that Harry and Ginny didn't talk more. **

**I mean, it was Ginny who thought up a way for Harry to talk to Sirius by asking the twins, she noticed and acted on his behaviour. And as the books always focus on Harry any girl besides Hermione won't get much character development. Just a thought.**

**Okay, enough of my rant. I hope you like this chapter too, it's the longest so far.**

* * *

**Rescue Mission**

Harry woke up in the early morning hours and when the memories of yesterday returned, he felt sick and ran to the bathroom, vomiting again. Fawkes and Anubis tried to console him, but they didn't have much success.

'We need to do something, Fawkes.' Anubis sent the phoenix.

'I know, Anubis, but this is beyond our abilities. He needs a human close to him to tell him that he did the right thing." Fawkes sent back.

'You knew him longer than me; don't you know his mate or a pack mate who could help him? He will destroy himself if this goes on. I won't let this happen, he saved my life.' Anubis stated.

'I think I know who would be best to help him, but she's at the school and will be missed if I get her here. She would be in danger after that and he would never forgive me that. He separated himself from her to protect her.' Fawkes sighed.

'That's stupid. Even I know that he can't do what he has to do alone.' Anubis scoffed.

'Perhaps I could get her here and bring her back before classes at the castle start again, it is really early after all.' Fawkes pondered.

'Do it, he needs her now. He'll never be able to get over his guilt without help. And he can't really understand us. We can only send him images, she could talk to him.'

Fawkes relented and flashed away.

* * *

In the girls' dorm for the sixth year Gryffindor girls Ginny Weasley was alone that night. Her only remaining roommate was at the hospital wing after a curse gone wrong in Dark Arts. Ginny hoped Felicia would be healed soon. During the last months she had got used to being a light sleeper as many of their actions to protest the Carrows' regime had to be done at night. So when she registered a flaming sound in her room, she awoke, grabbing her wand from her nightstand immediately. When she levelled the wand at the intruder she was shocked.

"Fawkes? What are you doing here?" She asked.

The phoenix trilled urgently and sent her an image after making eye contact with her.

"Harry? You want me to come with you to see him?" She tried making sense of the weird situation she found herself in.

Fawkes trilled confirming.

"Is Harry alright?" She asked.

Fawkes trilled sadly, negating it.

"Alright, I'll come. I'll just leave a note for Parvati so she can give me an alibi."

Ginny pulled out a small doll the twins had given her before she returned to school. They called it an alibi double. It would take her form for twenty-four hours if she placed one of her hairs in it. They had invented the idea for those who wanted to skip classes by pretending to be too ill to go. The doll would grow to the form of the user and display symptoms the skiving snack box candies produced.

Ginny finished the note, put the doll in her place and put on some normal clothes.

"Okay, Fawkes, I'm ready, bring me to Harry." She said, taking the offered tail feather of the firebird and was flashed away by him.

* * *

Both Ginny and Fawkes arrived at the house to the sound of retching in the bathroom. Ginny looked at Fawkes and got a motion with his head to go there. Ginny hurried to the bathroom, finding a young man, bent over the loo, losing the content of his stomach, which didn't seem to be much anyways.

Finally she recognized Harry when he washed his mouth with water after finishing and he looked up with bloodshed green eyes.

"Harry." She whispered.

"Ginny?" He croaked.

She went over to him and pulled him into an embrace, not wanting to let him go. He looked so broken. What in the world had happened to him?

"Come on, Harry, let's get you to bed, then you can tell me what happened." She said soothingly.

"No, you'll hate me." He whispered.

"I'll never hate you, well except if you joined Tom, but I don't think you'd do that." She tried to joke.

Harry was too weak to put up a fight and let her lead him to the bedroom that he hadn't used the last nights. She got him out of his dirty clothes and pulled a fresh pyjama from the wardrobe.

"This is better, Harry, lie down. I'll get you some tea; that'll be the only thing your stomach can cope with. I'll take care of you."

Harry didn't protest. Just letting her take care of him now just sounded too good. Soon Ginny came back with a teapot and two cups. She prepared the tea for Harry, putting a spoon full of honey into it and gave it to him. He accepted it with a shaking hand, making Ginny take the cup back and put it to his lips to slowly let him drink it.

She knew something terrible must have happened to put Harry in this state; she just didn't know what it was. She didn't even know where they were, but that was probably for the best. She would help Harry with getting to terms with whatever had happened. She couldn't stand seeing him in this condition. After Harry had drunk half of his tea, she put the cup on the nightstand and took her own tea. She drank some and had a good look at Harry. He looked terrible. Then she heard a yip behind her.

She turned and didn't want to believe what she saw. There stood a black puppy dog, whacking its tail that looked eerily like a Grim. No it couldn't be true; was Harry the so called Reaper? They had heard the story on Potterwatch just last night. But it was just a puppy; it surely couldn't fight yet; or could it? The dog come over to them and jumped onto Harry's bed, walking over to his head and began licking his face.

"Stop it, Anubis." Harry moaned, too tired to stop his dog.

Ginny had to giggle at the scene in front of her.

"Yeah, really funny." Harry grumbled.

Anubis seemed to agree with Ginny and barked happily.

"You should have seen it, then you'd laugh too, Harry." She defended herself.

Harry had to smile at the sound of her voice.

"How comes you're here? Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" He asked, then realizing that it was true and abruptly sitting up with a jolt.

"Ginny, it's too dangerous for you here! You have to go back, if they find out you've been with me…" He frantically said only to be pressed back into his pillows by Ginny, who put a finger on his lips.

"Sh. Nobody will find out anything. I've left a doll that'll impersonate me for twenty four hours; one of the useful new inventions of my dear brothers. They'll think I was ill for the day. I'll be back tomorrow morning, but at the moment you need me more. Fawkes got me for a reason. Please tell me what happened. I promise I'll not hate you." She assured him, remembering his earlier comment.

Harry looked in her eyes and she could see the hurt, the insecurity, the guilt but there was still strength.

"You promise?" He asked anxiously.

"I promise." She said firmly.

He searched her eyes as if to find any kind of insincerity in them but came up empty. He sighed and relented.

"Well, it all began when I visited my parents' grave here in Godric's Hollow." Harry tentatively began his story.

He told her everything. When he started he couldn't stop, it all spilled out of him, all the suppressed feelings of the last months, the hurt over the betrayal of Ron and Hermione, the impossibly difficult task of finding and destroying the horcruxes, his loneliness that had somewhat been lessened when he got Anubis, the inadequate preparation he got from Dumbledore and finally him killing Nagini and the Death Eaters with the sword of Gryffindor.

"I could call the sword to me because nobody else had proven worthy after me. The sword is imbued with basilisk venom from the time I killed Salazar's basilisk with it in the Chamber of Secrets. It's my best chance of destroying the horcruxes. Nagini died by _sectumsempra_ as I didn't want to risk anything. Ginny, I feel so dirty and guilty. I know they'd have killed me and the muggles in a heartbeat if they got the chance and that they deserved to die, but it doesn't help." He cried out.

She held him in a warm embrace and let him cry. He had gone through too much, especially too much alone. Her brother and Hermione could prepare themselves for a Howler. How could they just abandon him with nothing in a tent?

"You did the right thing, Harry. I love you and your actions and your pain just prove to me that you're truly a great man. Don't think about the fact that you killed them; think about all the lives you saved. Now they can't hurt anybody anymore. They can't kill anybody anymore. Stunning them isn't enough anymore as there is no way to put them in prison. I know it's hard but I'm glad you did what you did. You killed Tom's snake, which he won't connect to his horcruxes as it happened in a fight against his Death Eaters. You still can find the others. And then we can finally get rid of him. You'll make a better future for all of us possible." She told him.

Harry listened to her arguments. He knew she had a point but it was so hard to forgive himself for what he had done. Then he latched onto one thing she had said.

"You still love me? Even if I broke up with you?" He asked quietly.

"Of course I do. I still think it was stupidly noble of you, but I logically understand it. I don't like it at all, but I understand. I just wish you'd stop thinking of others first and yourself second. You also have a right to happiness. You have a right to live. There's no other man I want to spend my life with than you, Harry Potter."

Harry looked at her face and saw a fierce sincerity. He pulled her down to him and kissed her desperately. All his pent up feelings went into that kiss. And she returned his kiss, holding him with all her might. Finally he let go.

"I love you too, Ginny. I wish I could be with you but it's too dangerous at the moment. You can't leave Hogwarts without them hunting you down. I've read about the snatchers that are hunting muggleborns and school skippers in a left-over copy of the Prophet. I don't want to endanger you unnecessary. And you still have the trace on you."

"Harry, wither you and I are a couple or not, I'm still a target. My family is one of the biggest blood traitors there are. Just for that the Death Eaters hate me. My status as a pureblood just protects me from the harshest treatment."

"What do you mean?" He asked fearing the answer.

Ginny sighed. She didn't want to burden Harry with the problems at Hogwarts but he needed to get the stupid idea out of his head that Hogwarts was safer for her than being by his side. Or being secretly together with him.

"Under the new regime Hogwarts has changed massively. The Carrows, the two Death Eaters beside Snape who teach there, are horrible to all students besides the Slytherins and a few specially selected purebloods from other houses that believe in pureblood supremacy. Amycus Carrow, the new teacher in Defence against the Dark Arts transformed the subject into Dark Arts. And Muggle Studies is about how animal like muggles and therefore muggleborns are." Ginny explained. "If anybody breaks the rules, he's punished severely. The Carrows have older students who are on their side practice the cruciatus curse on them. You can't imagine what a great help Kreacher has been. He supplies us with food and potions. Bless the old elf. I never would've thought I'd ever be so grateful for his existence."

"I'm glad to hear that. I've seen him last a few weeks ago when I sent him back to the castle. I can't keep him with me all the time and there he can help. I think it means a lot to him to help defying the one who was responsible for Regulus Black's death." Harry told her.

"You're probably right. Now while I'm here today, why don't we exchange ideas about the hiding places of some of those horcruxes to see if we can get you closer to your goal?" She offered.

"Sure. Well, I told you about the lessons Dumbledore gave me. Tom Riddle had an obsession with the number seven. So we're sure he made six horcruxes to get a total of seven pieces of his soul. We've destroyed the diary, the ring, the locket and the snake. That leaves Hufflepuff's cup and something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. As I told you it's highly probable that Bellatrix Lestrange is keeping one of his horcruxes safe and I suspect it's in her Gringotts vault. It'd be the perfect place." Harry informed her of his ideas.

"And it has a high symbolic value in the wizarding world; I see why you think that way." Ginny agreed with his thoughts.

Harry smiled. Ginny was a lot easier to talk to and discuss things with than Hermione.

"Yes, I've thought up a plan based on the habit of Bellatrix to bully the shop keepers at Diagon Alley every first of the month. I'll sneak up on her under my cloak and put her under a _confundus_ and _imperius_. Then I'll have her take the item Tom entrusted her with from her vault thinking he wants her to bring it to him. When I get it, I'll first obliviate her and then kill her. She is too dangerous to be left alive." Harry sighed.

Ginny took his hand and squeezed it assuringly.

„You're right, Bellatrix has to die. She killed and tortured too many to be left alive. The only thing I hate about the plan is that you'll be forced to kill again. I wish there was another way." She said.

"Me too, Ginny." Harry answered.

"Which place do you think the last horcrux is hidden at?" She asked.

"Hogwarts. The first place Tom ever saw as home. The place where all powerful British wizards were educated. The problem is if Bellatrix has Hufflepuff's cup in her vault, then I don't know what I'm looking for. I had planned to search the school during the Christmas holidays. Then there'd be nearly no students and it'd be easy to do it. Especially as no Death Eater would think I'd dare to do so." Harry stated.

"That is really dangerous." Ginny countered.

"I know, but there isn't another way. During the holidays I have the time I need. And I've decided to get Snape's old Potions book back from the Room of Requirement. While the man is a murderer, I think we could do a lot of good with his improved recipes. I've thought long about my friendship with Ron and Hermione and have come to the conclusion that I've unknowingly held myself back. I didn't want to lose their friendship if I showed my true intelligence. Ron hates learning and only does his work unwillingly and Hermione with her constant nagging and hyper ambition to be best doesn't like others doing better than her.

"I love the two, but I see now that I should have thought of myself first sometimes. After Tom returned I should have been training every chance I got. I should have got training from the Order members who could fight; like Moody, Sirius and Remus. Sirius would have loved to teach me, it would have given him a purpose and he wouldn't have got that restless in the house. And then Dumbledore. Even if he didn't want to get too close to me due to the link I have with Tom in my fifth year, couldn't he at least have given me a list with things that I should have learned?

"He could have asked McGonagall to give it to me. But no, he first hid the prophecy from me, which led to me falling into Tom's trap because I had no way to know what Tom wanted to achieve. My recklessness led to Sirius being killed. Then in sixth year he could have done more. While I'm grateful for the information I got and know that he has been looking for horcruxes, that year the Ministry didn't fight him at Hogwarts. He could have had order members train me. And he should have told me which places he had already searched for horcruxes.

"The man had a problem with working with others. I needed more information for this search. While having me puzzling out things might be good for me to learn how to do it, with the limited time we had that year, he could have done more. And why in Merlin's name did he put the one man I hated most in the position of Defence teacher? He knew I'd never do well in Snape's class because the man can't get over the fact that my father and he were enemies." Harry ranted.

"I don't understand it either. You're right; there were things that should have been done differently. But nobody could ever really say that he understood Dumbledore."

"From what I read in his journal, he had a major problem of sharing secrets. He always feared others could get the secrets and use them against him. The problem is if you have too many secrets it'll happen that you overlook important things. I can understand the need to keep me safe. But from what Dumbledore thought, the power Tom doesn't know is love. Well, if it were not for the kindness of your family and my friends, I wouldn't know what love is either. The Dursleys hated me; there is nothing else to say about that."

Ginny cuddled up to him. She wanted to let him feel how much she loved him. They only had one day, then she would have to return to Hogwarts.

Harry took in the unique scent his girlfriend had. He was really glad that she was here with him. He wished she could stay but he knew that was selfish and not possible. He held her close and tried to memorize the feeling. Slowly he sank into a restful sleep.

* * *

Fawkes and Anubis had watched the two and were quietly communicating with each other.

'Thank Merlin that it worked.' Fawkes sent.

'Yes, good work. He has calmed down a lot. She's good for him.' Anubis sent back.

'Sadly she can't stay indefinitely. She would be a good mate.' Fawkes reminded Anubis.

'Why can't she stay? He needs her.' The puppy asked.

'The followers of the evil one would find out and target her family. And the evil one can't find out about Harry's mission from Albus until it is done.' Fawkes explained.

'I know you were Albus' familiar, but in my opinion he didn't do the best job to prepare Harry for this mission. He should have done more.' Anubis complained.

'I know. But Albus was stubborn. I tried to reason with him to at least train Harry more than he did, but he insisted he should have a childhood. I think he should have started when the evil one had returned to a body. But my advice wasn't heard. You'll learn Anubis that if your human doesn't want to listen to your advice he won't do it. And Albus was more stubborn than all the others I met.'

'I don't think Harry is like that.' Anubis stated.

'Perhaps, but Albus wasn't as stubborn as he was in the end when he was younger.' Fawkes commented.

* * *

Parvati was worried about Ginny and went to look where she was, when she missed breakfast. She found her in bed shivering and a small note in her hand. Parvati thankfully knew that whenever one of them had a note, it was to be read first.

_CD DA 2C_

She read. She recognized the code and translated it using a spell they had found at the beginning of the year. This was the DA code 2C, which required the password for it. Oberon.

_Had to leave for one day, doll will cover for me. Not traceable. Will be back tomorrow and report then. _

While Parvati was glad to know that nothing bad had happened to Ginny, she wondered just how the girl had managed to get out of the school without anybody noticing. She went back down to the common room and informed the others that Ginny was ill and would spend the day in bed.

They looked a bit surprised but Parvati signalled 2C to them and they understood immediately. They took their books and went down to their classes. Parvati would inform them about the details later. Thankfully they met Professor McGonagall on their way to Charms and informed her that Ginny was ill and would stay in bed for the day. Their head of house raised an eyebrow but told them thank you for informing her.

* * *

Lord Voldemort was seething. He had lost fourteen of his Death Eaters in Godric's Hollow as well as his familiar and horcrux Nagini. Thankfully he had been sly enough to make more than one horcrux. It had proven necessary with followers as foolish as Lucius who had managed to get his first horcrux destroyed and those idiots who couldn't even keep Nagini safe. He had sent the snake to watch the attack he had planned on the muggles in the village and to then proceed to take the position of Bathilda Bagshot. He was sure Potter would one day appear in the village and it had proven impractical to station a Death Eater there all the time to wait for Potter to visit his parents' graves. The foolish boy was bound to show up sometime.

Now he didn't have that option anymore. And he needed to take out Potter. The damn prophecy related to him. Even if he didn't know the whole content of it, Potter had proven to be a problem and as long as he was alive, the magical people of Britain still had a sliver of silly hope left that things would change. After all, he had been called The Chosen One for over a year in the Prophet. That wouldn't be forgotten that fast. But he would show them that he, Lord Voldemort, would rule forever. After all, he was immortal, even if his horcruxes were now down to four. The ring, the cup, the diadem and the locket were still safe in their hiding places. And the best thing was that nobody knew he had made horcruxes. The two destructions were sad accidents. And if anything would have happened to Bellatrix' vault, he would have heard of it.

No his power was secured.

He just needed to find out what this Reaper person meant. He had forced the memories out of his Death Eater's mind before he had killed him for the failure. The person clearly had looked like the old images of the Reaper he had seen in books and the dog was clearly a Grim. From what he knew only those related to death could ever gain the allegiance of those magical creatures. But what connection to death could there be? There was no real Reaper in the world. He didn't believe in those superstitions. He needed to find out more, but he also needed to find the wand. He had already planned his trip to the continent to look for it. He would find out where the death stick had gone and then he would kill Potter easily.

* * *

Harry awoke refreshed. He didn't have any nightmares and he felt really good. He registered the weight on the left side of his chest and saw Ginny sleeping there. Her red hair spread over her back. He smiled and gently stroked her hair. She was so beautiful. Ginny stirred under his hands and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey Ginny." He said smiling at her.

"Hey, Harry, what time is it?" She asked still with eyes half closed.

Harry looked at his watch.

"A bit after 12.00 a.m. Are you hungry? I could use a little bit to eat. I think my stomach has got better, I should be able to keep something light inside."

"I'd like that, but I also don't want to get out of bed. I'm really comfortable." She said, snuggling into his chest.

"Hm, that's a problem. I can't cook from the bed." Harry mock seriously pondered.

"Prat." Ginny replied.

Harry chuckled.

Finally fifteen minutes later they finally got up and went to the kitchen. He put a pot with rice on the stove and set it to cook.

"What are you going to cook Harry?" Ginny asked curiously.

„I'm making rice with Ragout Fin. I don't think I can keep anything fried at the moment. And I've found that Ragout Fin is a nice light dish that is originally from Germany even if the name is French. I tried it while I stayed at my relatives' house those weeks and found I liked it. So I've got me tins of it in my supplies. It is also easy to cook. You just have to either cook rice or use puff pastry pies. But those I think won't go over well with my stomach now." He replied.

„I've never heard of it before." Ginny said.

"Well, it is a foreign dish and you know that Hogwarts is really traditional in regards of food, the same with your mother. So the probability for classical English food is really big in both places. I also think it is more of a muggle dish. I only came upon it by coincidence. The local supermarket where I stocked up on food had a sale on it to advertise it. I took a tin to try it out and came back for more."

When the rice was finished, Harry poured one tin of the Ragout Fin over it and mixed both together. When he was sure everything was cooked, he turned off the fire and put half of the food on each plate. He handed Ginny her plate and sat down at the table.

"Enjoy your meal." He said.

"Thanks, Harry. You too."

Ginny took a first spoon full of the dish and blew over it to cool it down a bit. Then she put it in her mouth. She was surprised.

"This is really good, Harry. What is it made of?"

"The main ingredients are chicken and veal. I haven't really read the ingredients on the tin further." Harry admitted.

"I'll have to get mum the recipe. How is your stomach holding up?" She asked.

"It's okay. It feels still a bit delicate but I don't feel like throwing up again. I'm really glad you came to help me, Ginny. I don't know what I'd have done without you." Harry answered smiling lightly.

"It was no problem, Harry. I'm sure you'd have overcome the feeling of guilt sometime. But I'm glad I could help you deal with it easier." She replied.

That moment Anubis barked and reminded them that he too wanted something to eat. Harry chuckled.

"Just wait a moment, Anubis. I'll fill your bowl soon." Harry said.

He went to the shelves next to the fridge where he kept the puppy food for Anubis. He pulled one tin from the shelf. He opened it magically and poured the content into Anubis bowl. He used a fork to reduce it to smaller pieces. Then he put the bowl on the ground in front of Anubis. The puppy happily barked and then started eating his food.

"Hey, Fawkes, are you also hungry?" He asked the firebird.

He got a positive trill. So he got some fruit and cut it down and handed a plate to Fawkes. He also started eating.

Then Harry sat down again and continued eating his meal.

"How did you come upon Anubis?" Ginny asked. While he had told her that he had found the puppy, she didn't know the circumstances.

"It was after I visited my parents' graves for the first time. I had just left the graveyard when I heard a commotion. I went to look and saw a group of youths trying to get past the local priest to kick an animal on the ground. I was furious and interfered with their plans by frightening them without really doing anything. I used a form of making muggles feel magical presence. I managed to drive them away. Father Robert the priest, then showed me what he had protected and it was Anubis. He did first aid on him but didn't have that much hope that he would recover.

"So I asked to be allowed to take him with me, I had the intention to try and heal him magically but I could hardly tell him that. He allowed it and I brought Anubis here. I had Kreacher bring me a book about healing spells from Grimmauld Place while I was still in Surrey, so I knew at least the basics. I also had enough dittany to help him. So I used _episkey_ on the smaller wounds and closed the bigger ones with dittany. Then I fed him diluted blood replenishing potion. But he still didn't get better. I loudly pondered how Fawkes tears would be able to help him and then Fawkes surprisingly appeared. He showed me how to heal Anubis. It also made Anubis my familiar. Fawkes also brought me four books, which have helped me learning more about Dumbledore and Gryffindor's sword." Harry told the story.

"So, is Anubis really a Grim?" Ginny wanted to know.

"Yes, he is. From what I found out from Dumbledore's journal, my invisibility cloak is one of the so called Deathly Hallows. It was originally in the possession of Ignotus Peverell, who was one of my ancestors. From what I read, the tale of the three brothers from The Tales of Beadle the Bard is about Ignotus, Antioch and Cadmus Peverell. According to Dumbledore's journal he and Grindelwald tried to find all three Hallows in their youth. They had a falling out before they wanted to start their quest to find them and rule about the muggles. Obviously an argument between Aberforth Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore's younger brother, and Grindelwald ended with all three fighting.

"Ariana Dumbledore, the younger sister, who had issues with controlling her magic after being hurt by muggle boys when she was six, died in the fight, which was the point from when Dumbledore stopped his former beliefs. He never really got over his feelings of guilt. He didn't even know who fired the curse that killed her. Well, the entries he made in his journal during my sixth year at Hogwarts give me a better idea of his suspicions about Tom. Sadly he didn't have any ideas where the other horcruxes could be hidden either.

"Well back to Anubis. The Peverells were said to often attract Grims as their companions due to their relation with death. After all, whoever possesses all of the Deathly Hallows will become the Master of Death if you believe legend. And the cloak has been passed down in my family for generations." Harry finished.

"Wow, that's an incredible story." Ginny said impressed.

"It is and it's hard to accept that Dumbledore was once best friends with Grindelwald, yet he expects me to get rid of Voldemort. I've lost a lot of my former naivety, Ginny. I've killed, I've seen death and I've been tortured more often than I care to remember. The only thing stopping me from leaving Britain behind is that I know what Tom will do once he's sure I'm not a threat anymore. I can't let that happen. I don't want my friends to live under his regime. That isn't living that is just waiting for the end." Harry fiercely stated.

"I agree and I want to help you. And don't you dare say it is too dangerous, I know the dangers. I've felt the cruciatus for protecting others at Hogwarts and just for being a Weasley. All those of the DA know what this war is about and we're doing what we can against the Carrows. If you really think the last horcrux is at Hogwarts, then let me search for it when I return. I can also get your Potions book from the Room of Requirement. I'm sure the Ravenclaws in the DA know best what Rowena Ravenclaw was famous for, an artefact connected to her. Perhaps that will help us. If the cup is at Hogwarts, all the better, then we'll find out once you get Bellatrix to fetch it from her vault for you." Ginny said. "If not, we'll have an inkling what we're looking for. I'm sure we'll be able to find it easier than you would if you searched the castle during the Christmas Holidays."

Harry had to admit it was a sound plan. The DA was already at Hogwarts. They could look for the horcrux unsuspiciously. He would first have to find a way inside, which would require for him to get into Hogsmeade to pass the wards undetected. But he assumed that the village would be observed. Not that easy to sneak in. Or he would have to ask Kreacher if he was able to take him through the wards with house elf apparition. Those were the only ways to get inside the castle without being detected.

"Okay, I can agree with that plan, just don't tell anybody else what exactly you're searching. Nobody can know that I'm hunting horcruxes. Snape and Voldemort are skilled Legilimens. They could take the information from your minds" Harry warned her.

Ginny smiled brightly. This was what she had hoped for, Harry acknowledging her as a partner in his quest, being trusted with his secrets. Even when they had been going out officially, she had felt that Ron and Hermione had known more of his secrets than her. She had wanted to be included in Harry's world and now he finally was ready to let her truly in.

"I promise. I won't tell them what we're looking for. But I'm sure they'll be eager to help looking for anything we can come up with. So now tell me where exactly you hid your Potions book and what the title is." She demanded.

"I hid it in the Room of Requirement. Its title is Advanced Potion-Making. I asked the room to become a place where I could hide my book. The room contains lots of junk that must have been hidden there over centuries. I once caught Trelawney hiding sherry bottles there." Harry snickered.

Ginny giggled.

"That fits. Perhaps she thinks the hallucinations she has while being drunk are real predictions." She said.

Harry had to laugh as well. Then he thought of something and grew sober.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Ginny asked concerned.

"I'd like to take you to my parents' graves and well, introduce you to them. Perhaps you think I'm silly, but …"

Ginny stopped his rambling with her finger to his lips.

"I don't think you're silly and I'd like that too." She assured him.

He smiled and leaned in to her to kiss her.

* * *

Hermione and Ron sat in Ron's room at Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur's home. They were planning what they would do now that they had realized the dimension of danger they were in. They didn't think they could travel around the country to find horcruxes on their own. They didn't have any idea where to start. Nothing had changed on that front.

"Okay, we know the Reaper killed the snake, Harry has the locket and we don't know if he found a way to destroy it yet because we don't know where the sword of Gryffindor is. The ring was destroyed by Dumbledore and the diary by Harry in our second year. This means only the cup and something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw are unaccounted for." Hermione summed it up.

"Yes, and I can't think of any places where he could have hidden anything. The orphanage was a failure, Hogwarts is impossible, which fool would use his school to hide a horcrux after all, and we know that the Gaunt shack and the cave had already been found by Dumbledore. There was nothing else in the memories Harry told us about." Ron confirmed.

"I know. What are we going to do now Ron? We can't put everybody in danger with us being here. The Fidelius charm would attract unnecessary attraction from the Ministry if your family put it around their houses. It would only be a last option. We can't really travel around without a tent like we did before because of the snatchers. While I'd be able to blend in with the muggle world I fear I'd be found soon if they found a way to spot magic in general. And you know nothing about living like a muggle."

„You're right, I couldn't blend in well. Perhaps for some hours but not for weeks like we would need to do. Even Dad with his fascination for muggles would stand out sorely. Do you think Harry is doing it? I mean hiding in the muggle world while looking for the horcruxes?" Ron asked.

Hermione pondered about this.

"You could be right. We should have thought of this sooner. I'm nearly sure that was where he went first. His relatives' house. It would be the only place he knew where he could get supplies. They are in a safe house protected by the Order and Remus and Kingsley told us that the Order has cleaned up and repaired anything the Death Eaters had destroyed afterwards. Harry heard that. And I know he left all the things he thought he wouldn't need on the hunt for the horcruxes back there. It would be his best option to plan and recover. Why didn't I see it before?" She ranted.

"Don't blame yourself it'd be the last place I'd think he would go to. Perhaps only his desperation drove him there if he went there. He hates that place as much as Sirius hated Grimmauld Place." Ron tried to calm her down.

"Should we send anybody there to check if Harry is there?" She asked.

"We can tell Bill, but I don't think he'd still be there. It has been over a month since we left him. He wouldn't stay in the same place for long."

Hermione nodded. Harry knew he had to keep moving to escape the Death Eaters.

"So where do you want to go? There aren't that many possibilities in Britain. We're two of the most wanted people here." Ron said.

„I've thought about leaving the country for a while. Perhaps Beauxbatons; I've heard a lot of muggleborn students went there. Madame Maxime is helping all she can. Perhaps we could finish our education and then campaign against Riddle from France or so. Or if Beauxbatons isn't the right thing, we could study on our own, take the official NEWTs somewhere else than Britain and have graduate status. It'd make things easier at least for you. If you had your NEWTs nobody would harass you. You're a pureblood after all." She said.

"The problem is we would have to learn all the stuff the others attending there have learned until now. Also, isn't the language they teach in French? I don't speak a word French." Ron said.

"There are translation spells, that wouldn't be a problem, but writing essays in French would be, I see your point. Perhaps we should ask Bill and Fleur. Fleur has been a student there and Bill probably has other good ideas." She agreed.

They left the room and went down to speak with Bill and Fleur about their options.

* * *

Harry had used a glamour charm to change Ginny's hair colour from red to blond. As her hair was her most distinguishable feature, with the change nobody would associate the two versions of her. He had his brown contacts in his eyes and his arm around Ginny's shoulder. She wore an old set of clothes and a coat of his mother. They were slowly walking towards the graveyard to visit his parents' grave. After the visit they intended to visit Father Robert to show him how well Anubis had recovered.

Harry had a jar he had transfigured to hold a candle with images of a stag, a dog and a wolf running around with a lily over all of them. As he had placed a bouquet of flowers just a few days prior, which he had charmed to stay fresh longer than normal, there was no need for a fresh batch. Ginny knew a type of candles that would burn as long as they weren't diminished with water, so they went into one of the magical shops and got one for the jar.

Harry showed Ginny the way to the graves and they walked through the rows. Finally they reached the grave.

Harry set the jar down next to the flowers and lighted the candle with his wand.

"Hey Mum, hey Dad." He softly greeted them. "I wanted to introduce you to my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny just held his hand; she knew this was hard for him.

„I'm sure you'd have liked her, she's incredible. I was an idiot to try and keep her away from me to protect her. I've realized I can't do this all alone. I don't even know the basic things children are taught growing up in the wizarding world. Well at least until I asked Kreacher to teach me so I wouldn't stand out too much." Harry admitted.

Ginny added another point on her list to punish the Dursleys for. And she would have a nice chat with McGonagall why she never thought of remedying Harry's deficit of knowledge. She knew that muggleborn children got meetings with their heads of house in first year to learn basic knowledge about the wizarding world. If this wasn't the case the risks of exposing their world would be too great.

She listened to Harry telling more about his life and just gave him moral support. She had the bad feeling he had bottled up more emotions than he had let out some hours ago. And it was never good to bottle up too much negative emotion.

Finally Harry seemed to be ready to go. Ginny held him close to her; he returned the gesture and had his arm around her shoulders keeping her close to him. When they left the graveyard, Harry let out a breath of relief.

"Thanks for coming with me and just letting me get this out of my system." He said looking in her eyes with a deep sense of gratefulness.

"It was my pleasure, Harry. I promised you that I'd be there for you if you needed me." Ginny answered smiling.

"Yes you did. I'm so glad to have you back. I horribly missed you, Ginny." He said, pulling her in for kiss.

Ginny returned his kiss.

They finally finished their kiss and Harry led her to the entrance of the church, where he hoped to find Father Robert. They looked around but the priest was absent.

"Are you looking for somebody?" A female voice asked.

Both turned around. An old woman stood behind them, a lit candle in her hand.

"We were looking for Father Robert; do you perhaps know where he is?" Harry asked.

"Oh, you didn't hear it then, I'm sorry but Father Robert is in the hospital. A group of brutes attacked him yesterday. They said something about payback for him protecting the devil's hound. And that the devil's hand wouldn't save him again." She explained.

Harry knew exactly who she was talking about.

"But he will soon be back. And he said he didn't have to fear anything now that death was walking on earth again to make the sinners pay. They would have to stand up to the Master of Death soon enough."

Harry froze. Those words were exactly the title the owner of all Deathly Hallows bore. Could Father Robert be aware of the magical world?

"Do you by any chance know where those bastards live? I'd like to give them a piece of my mind. Father Robert is a good man and he helped me a few days ago." He asked vaguely.

The evil grin on the woman's face told him she agreed with his plans.

* * *

John Carlson had a good day. He had put that stupid priest into hospital yesterday and he and his gang had taken fifty pounds already from the children at the local high school. That would be good for getting booze tonight. He was going to meet his mates again. They had decided that cute brunette in their class would make good entertainment for tonight as well. When he came to their meeting point, he stopped dead in his tracks. There lay his best mates, Charlie, Rodney, Xavier and Rob; they all were obviously beaten up.

Next to the group stood a figure he thought only existed in fairy tales.

"John Carlson." The figure that looked a lot like the Reaper croaked.

"You have been found guilty of being scum of humanity. Attacking a man of the church because he defended innocent life is inexcusable. Now you'll pay." Were the last words he heard before his world exploded in pain.

Ginny watched fascinated how easily Harry dealt with those thugs. She didn't know he could fight like that. Perhaps it was part of the training he had done at Privet Drive. She knew she should be appalled about him resorting to physical violence, but those guys only understood one language. She had seen it at Hogwarts. The only way the Slytherins ever left others alone was if they feared them or knew too well that they had no chance against them. Those thugs were the same.

Soon the last of the group that had attacked Father Robert lay at the ground, bruised and bloodied. Harry was a scary figure in his Reaper disguise. He had decided that to beat the Death Eaters he would become what they feared most, the impersonation of death. Needless to say it also worked for frightening muggle thugs. Harry then conjured ropes to bind them, disillusioned them and levitated them towards the police station this time being completely hidden under his invisibility cloak. He had written a note stating their crimes with the expression of hope that the police would properly deal with them.

He and Ginny then decided that it would be best to leave a note for Father Robert at the church for when he returned. Harry expressed his thanks and told that the dog had survived and he called him Anubis now. Regarding the danger of being spotted in Godric's Hollow right now Harry had decided that he would spend some time in the muggle world with occasional trips to scare Death Eaters. With Ginny's help he had been able to resign himself to the fact that the Death Eaters had to be stopped at all costs. And if his sacrifice would stop others from experiencing the pain he had experienced after killing those in Godric's Hollow, he would do it. Ginny promised to be there for him. She would be his anchor to humanity. She knew Harry wouldn't fall into darkness as long as he fought to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

Harry apparated them both to Inverness to have a nice dinner together. He thought it would be far enough away that nobody would suspect anything. While he had changed his appearance, it was better to be safe than sorry. For that reason he had changed Ginny's hair colour to blond in Godric's Hollow after all. He had read some muggle tourist guides for the best restaurants and showed Ginny the wonders of an Italian restaurant that was really popular for its cuisine. Ginny had liked it immensely and had him promise they would do this again once the war was over and he had beaten Tom. It was at one o'clock that Ginny was flamed back to Hogwarts by Fawkes after intense kissing goodbye.

* * *

**Wow, that was really long compared to my other chapters. Please review.**


	6. Cup and Diadem

**Hi, i'm back with the next chapter. I'm really happy how many of you left me reviews. I want to especially thank those that regularly leave a review. This time the horcruxes will be in the centre. How? You will have to read to find out.**

**Happy reading.**

* * *

**Cup and Diadem**

Bellatrix was in a good mood. It was December 1st and time for her regular visit to Diagon Alley to terrorize the shop owners. She liked being the one in control. And her master had taken over the country like he had always said he would. Purebloods ruled. Those of lesser blood were serving those who deserved it. The regular presence was just one way to ensure things stayed like they were. You had to rule with a firm hand if you wanted to have the scum know their station.

So she strode proudly through the Alley and visited those shops who either fully supported the Dark Lord to honour their loyalty or to remind those who might stray, like those infernal Weasley twins, who was the power in Great Britain. Soon enough they would conquer the continent. They just needed to build up their troops before they could look at the greater goals. Right now they had about seventy experienced Death Eaters and fifty recruits. She was walking from Slug and Jiggers, the apothecary where she had bought some of the ingredients Snape had asked for, for brewing the potions her master had requested. While he was now headmaster at Hogwarts he still was the Dark Lords best Potions Master. And of course her master would only have the best potions.

Bellatrix walked in the direction of Knockturn Alley like always during her visits. She had to get some dark artefacts Borgin had procured for the Dark Lord. She was sure nobody would dare to delay her, the known most faithful servant of the Dark Lord. It was so good to be in her rightful place. She never had the time to avoid the full body bind somebody had shot at her. Then her world went black.

* * *

Harry was highly pleased how much Bellatrix had let her guard down during her stroll. He had positioned himself at the entrance of Knockturn Alley where he was sure she would arrive sooner or later. He silently put her under a full body bind curse and then stunned her. He had feared the higher level stunner would have got her attention if he shot it alone. This way he had silently taken her out. She was disillusioned right now and he was putting three drops of veritaserum into her mouth. The things Kreacher had been able to find for him were simply fantastic. He had called his house elf to see if he could get him some fresh potions as his supply was running low after some battles with Death Eaters in his Reaper disguise.

He had killed twenty three more of them over the last three weeks and Voldemort was furious at the mysterious Reaper. Harry could attest to that by the headaches he had got. The Quibbler was reporting about his achievements in the fight against Voldemort and Harry was happy that at least one publication was telling the truth.

He had found an abandoned building at a side alley of Knockturn Alley where he had bound Bellatrix with conjured chains to the wall. He didn't intend to let her see his face; no, Bellatrix would only meet the Reaper. After all, he was Undesirable Number One and had to be vigilant.

He was waiting for the potion to have taken effect and then he enervated her.

"What is your name?" He asked her wanting to see the effect of the potion.

"Bellatrix Cassiopeia Lestrange." She answered monotonously.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"What are the Dark Lords current plans?"

"Keeping the population in fear to keep control, eliminate the last resistance to the rightful regime, weed out the dirty blood form our society, stop that ragtag _The Quibbler_ from sprouting disorder by kidnapping the editor's daughter from the Hogwarts Express, killing that Reaper impostor, finding the Potter brat to execute him publicly to erase the last doubt of his power in the foolish population and build his army to conquer the continent next."

"Where is the Dark Lord's headquarters?"

"Malfoy Manor."

"Where is Malfoy Manor located?"

"Yorkshire."

"Is the Dark Lord staying there currently?"

"No, he is travelling at the continent to look for something; I don't know what he is searching."

"Who is in command while he is away?"

„I'm his second in command, Severus is in control over Hogwarts, Antonin is in command over Azkaban, Lucius keeps Thicknesse and therefore the Ministry under his control."

"Where will the portkey you have with you take you to?"

"Malfoy Manor."

That was a perfect way to infiltrate the Death Eater headquarters; he would take it from her after she had done her job.

"Are you able to resist the imperius curse?"

"No, Azkaban destroyed my ability to do so."

Harry was very happy to hear that.

"Did the Dark Lord entrust you to keep something safe for him?"

"Yes, a golden cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."

"Where do you keep it?"

"In my Gringotts vault."

Harry smirked. He had been right. Well, he would soon put Bellatrix under the imperius curse and force her to get him the cup.

"Does Gringotts have security measures to detect and counter the imperius curse?"

"No, the Dark Lord didn't want to lose that tool for his purposes."

"Do you have your key with you?"

"Yes, I planned to visit the bank at the end of my tour to get some gold from my vault."

That was perfect in Harry's opinion. Nobody would suspect anything being amiss.

"Name all Death Eaters and supporters you know of. What is the specialty of them? Name all creatures and other beings that support the Dark Lord. Name all hideouts of the Death Eaters." Harry ordered and had a dicta quill take notes.

Well, the quill had recorded her whole interrogation so far. He would probably need to go over some of the details later. It took a long while until the flood of names had stopped. Harry knew with catching Bellatrix he had struck gold. Harry saw that the effects of the veritaserum were ceasing and waited patiently until she was completely aware of her surroundings again.

"You!" She yelled furiously.

"Me." Harry answered amused.

"The Dark Lord will find you and kill you!"

"Aw, I'm so afraid." He mocked her. "Why would I fear somebody who fears me?"

"The Dark Lord fears nothing not even the Reaper, he is immortal!" She sneered.

"There you're wrong, dear Bella, but I won't bore you with the details. You'll help me with a little job right now. _Imperio._"

Bellatrix eyes became unfocused.

"You'll finish your tour as usual and then you'll go to Gringotts. You'll go to your vault as you had planned. You'll get the gold you wanted to get and an additional two thousand galleons. You'll place the two thousand into a separate bag. You'll take the cup the Dark Lord entrusted you with and make a copy that will stay in your vault without anybody noticing. You'll place the original cup into the bag with the two thousand galleons. If anybody asks what you're getting the two thousand galleons for you'll answer it is an order of the Dark Lord. Otherwise you won't talk about them at all. You'll come back here and deliver the bag with the galleons and the cup to me. Understood?" Harry ordered.

"Yes." Bellatrix answered.

Harry then unchained her, returned her wand to her together with the portkey he had taken from her.

Bellatrix went out of the building and Harry observed her under the cloak. He wrote down where she went and what she got and did. Finally she went to Gringotts, where he wouldn't follow her inside. It was too risky. Now he had to wait for her to come back. He had to wait for nearly an hour. Then she came out of the bank and strode towards Knockturn Alley with two money bags shrunken on her belt. If it had been anybody but Bellatrix Harry would have been concerned that somebody could try to steal the money but nobody would dare to steal from Voldemort's second in command.

Bellatrix arrived at the building and handed the money bags to Harry.

"Any problems?"

"No." She answered still under the curse.

Harry pondered what would be the best course of action now. On one hand, Bellatrix could be an incredibly useful source of information; on the other hand, she was too dangerous to be left alive. He didn't doubt that Voldemort would be able to lift the imperius curse from her once he found out about it. And he didn't know when he would come back. So he decided that memory modification would be his best course of action coupled with an order to kill as many high ranking Death Eaters as possible.

Dumbledore would have probably frowned upon his actions but he had come to realize that while Dumbledore's goals were noble, during a time of war they were useless.

"_Obliviate._" He said, her eyes loosing focus.

He concentrated to plant the subconscious order to kill any Death Eater she found and sent her to Malfoy Manor by apparition. The portkey would be his ticket into Voldemort's lair once he was ready to take the despot out.

* * *

It was the fifteenth of December and Ginny was getting frustrated. The DA had searched the castle many times now looking for Hufflepuff's cup and the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. It was the only item of the founder of Ravenclaw house that was famous. All the secret passages had been searched; they had looked for any more hidden rooms or niches. But everything turned out a failure. And in two days they would return home for the Christmas Holidays. Nobody wanted to stay at the school this year except for a few Slytherins.

"Guys, I need a break from looking for the cup and the diadem. I'll go to the Room of Requirement and get Harry's Potions book back. It is too good a fund of knowledge to be left there." She said.

"Alright, I could use a break too, I'll accompany you." Neville said.

None of the students walked around the castle alone anymore except they were Death Eaters of course. The two left the common room and went towards the room. It was afternoon and they didn't have classes right now so there was nothing wrong with them walking around the castle. They reached the room and Ginny asked for the room of hidden things. The door appeared. Both were stunned by the amount of things that were there.

"Damn, I never would have thought something like this was here." Neville said.

"I knew Harry said it was crammed with things but this is huge. We should search the room later for things we could use. It's not like anybody will miss them."

Neville just nodded.

"Do you have a clue where we should start looking?" He asked.

"Harry said it was slightly left from the entrance and he hid it in a desk with an ugly bust with a crown on top" she said.

"Alright, it might take some time to find, but we have two hours until dinner. That should be enough if we look out for the bust with a crown."

They separated and started searching. After a bit more than an hour Neville finally found it.

"Ginny, I think I have it!" He shouted.

"Keep talking so I can find you!" She shouted back.

Following Neville's voice she soon arrived next to him. Neville held a book in his hands.

"This looks like what we were looking for and I also found something else." He said grinning and pointed at the crown on the head of the bust.

"I don't believe it." Ginny brought out.

"Better believe it. I can't believe we never thought to look here. If you think about it, it is obvious. You said Riddle was arrogant. He could have thought he was the only one to find this room. I don't know how he would think that with this much junk in here, but I won't complain." Neville stated.

"Do you know what this means? If Harry managed to get Bellatrix like he planned to and she really had the last one of those things, Harry will be able to kill Tom. This is great. Let's put the diadem and the book into my bag and call Kreacher when we're back at the tower. We can't mess this up." Ginny said.

"True. Let's go." Neville said and put both book and diadem into Ginny's bag.

Neville asked the room to create the exit of the room near the entrance of Gryffindor tower. They had figured out that they could influence the location of the exit to throw off Death Eaters. And there were some among the students.

They left the room and walked back to their common room only to overhear a conversation between their two most hated teachers.

"The Dark Lord is extremely upset right now, Alecto. We need to make sure that no news of disturbance at the school reach him now. With the stunt somebody made Bellatrix pull he is likely to curse anybody who brings even the slightest bit of bad news." Amycus Carrow said.

"True, brother, but I really want to know who got the drop on Bella. I mean, she is one of the best of us. No normal wizard could beat her in a duel. The Dark Lord taught her personally in her youth." Alecto replied.

"That doesn't change the fact that she is dead after she killed sixteen of the new recruits and seven of the inner circle before Rastaban killed her. And he didn't even survive it. They killed each other in their duel."

"I know; I still have problems getting my mind around the fact that we lost Rodolphus, Rastaban, Lucius, McNair, Avery and Rosier. I don't think Pettigrew is a major loss though."

"True, if she could have only taken out the menace Greyback. But no, she had to go after the powerful ones. I still think Pettigrew was more of an accident. The fool was so weak, only his animagus form made him useful as a spy; he wasn't good for anything else."

Their voices became less understandable while they were walking away from their position.

Ginny and Neville hurried up to the portrait of the fat lady, gave her the password and were let inside.

Neville was grinning like a loon.

"Neville?" Seamus asked who was sitting in the common room, doing homework.

"They're dead." He said still grinning.

"Who is dead?" Parvati now asked.

"The Lestranges. We just overheard the Carrows talking that Bellatrix went on a rampage and killed seven other Death Eaters. In a duel with Rastaban Lestrange she was also killed while taking him with her. She also killed sixteen recruits." Ginny informed the others.

Cheers erupted in the common room. That was a major blow against Voldemort.

Then a small pop made Ginny turn around. Dobby had appeared.

"Miss Ginny must be very careful." He warned urgently.

"Dobby? Why do I have to be careful?" Ginny asked concerned.

"Greasy git headmaster has got orders from the Dark Lord after big loss of his followers. He wants to set example. He wants to take children of those who resist him prisoner. Dobby knows Miss Ginny and her family is very close to Harry Potter sir and is in danger."

Many blanched at those news. The cheery atmosphere was blown away immediately.

"Thank you so much for the warning, Dobby." Ginny said. "Could you also warn Luna in Ravenclaw? Her father is editor of the Quibbler so she would also be a target."

"Dobby will do so. Be very careful at Hogwarts Express. Dobby fears it would be best chance for Dark Lord to strike."

Ginny nodded and Dobby popped away.

"Damn. If I ever see a wizard or witch abuse a house elf after all of this is over, I'll thrash him or her thoroughly." Neville said with conviction in his voice.

"I'll be right beside you." Lavender stated.

"Me too. While I've cursed Hermione for her SPEW badges and her pestering she was right. Without the house elves helping us, we wouldn't survive this war even at school." Parvati agreed.

There was total agreement with the others in the tower. They all knew what they owed the house elves.

* * *

Harry sat in his room in a muggle hotel in Nottingham. He thought it was amusing to hide in the village where, if you believed the legend, the outcast Robin Hood had fought against the tyranny of Prince John until Richard, the rightful king, returned from the crusades. He had decided to rest in this village for some days. He would apparate to Hogsmeade to take the Hogwarts Express in secret to prevent the Death Eaters from kidnapping Luna. He had thought hard how he could use the list of names Bellatrix had given him best.

He didn't want to assassinate them, he could kill if he had to protect others but he wasn't cut out for that kind of thing. But he also didn't have a location to imprison them. Kidnapping them was a tempting thought. But without a prison that would hold them, it just wasn't an option. And he couldn't create wards to prevent apparition from his prisoners. Otherwise he could have just dumped them on one of the uninhabited islands around Scotland, set up the anti-apparition wards all over the island and left them there.

If he could just contact one of the Order members they could take care of the problem, but he didn't know how to contact them without endangering them.

"Anubis, I hate my limited knowledge sometimes." Harry said to his familiar.

Anubis whined sympathetically. He lay in a basket Harry had bought in one of the pet shops in the city. Harry had just fed him and he was sleepy. More than a sympathetic ear was just too much to ask for now.

"I mean, if I could set up wards to imprison the Death Eaters, I could systematically take them out before I had to face Tom. That would make the whole operation a lot easier. I hate killing them." He confessed.

Anubis knew that, but he was glad that his master had come to terms with what he had to do. And he knew that Harry wouldn't go crazy and become a monster. He knew why it was sometimes necessary to kill your opponent in a war, but as long as he hated killing, he was still human.

"In two days the Hogwarts Express will return to London to take the students home over the Christmas holidays. We'll be on board to protect the students against Death Eater attacks, especially prevent them kidnapping Luna and the others to blackmail their families." Harry stated.

Anubis barked confirming.

Harry smiled at the puppy. He had grown a bit since he had found him. Not much, after all it had only been a month or so, but he was growing like he should. Harry had no clue what the normal rate of growth for a Grim was, but he would just assume as long as he took good care of Anubis and he didn't show any signs of illness all was well. He wished he could ask Hagrid for advice, but that was just impossible.

He looked at the nightstand where the present that Ginny and the others had sent him through Kreacher sat. He had recognized the diadem when he saw it. He couldn't believe that he had found a horcrux without realizing what it was. But hey, with all the junk that was in the room, how could he have known what the diadem was? He was a Gryffindor after all and had never set foot in the Ravenclaw common room. He didn't even know where it was except that it was in one of the towers. The most noticeable feature of the diadem right now was that it was broken in the middle by piercing it with the sword.

This horcrux didn't put up as good a fight as the locket. He suspected it had been a later horcrux with less of Voldemort's soul in it. But he really doubted Voldemort's intellect by just hiding the horcrux between the other things in the room. There had been no protection at all according to Ginny's letter that she had sent to him with Kreacher.

He had laughed about her description of Neville and her finding the horcrux when they just went to the room of hidden things to get his Potions book back. He was also happy about the information that his plan concerning Bellatrix had worked that well. And he had cheered when he read that Pettigrew was one of the Death Eaters she had killed. And the six other Death Eaters she killed were important figures. Lucius Malfoy was even the one who had been in control of the Ministry. Perhaps some of his imperius victims would wake up now. He figured that it would depend on how fast anybody could get to the victims. If a Death Eater was fast enough the curse could be reapplied.

From Bellatrix interrogation he knew that most of the people at the Ministry, including Thicknesse, that were controlled by the imperius were put under it by Malfoy. And he had to place a lot people under it again after he (Harry) had killed Yaxley during one of the raids he had interfered with. It worked in Harry's favour now. Perhaps they could take back control over the Ministry. But he didn't count on it. Most people were too scared to do anything.

Harry read the Potions book trying to find any other useful spells or potions that he could use against the Death Eaters. He decided that he would stock up on the equivalent of knock out gas in potion form, the improved version of the draught of living death and the potion to counter the effects of the cruciatus. That was the only potion he hadn't been able to make himself until now as none of the books he had had the recipe in them. It was on one of the last pages of the book.

* * *

Voldemort was sitting on his throne that had been placed at Malfoy Manor. He was thinking hard how he would replace his killed followers. Between the Reaper impostor and Bellatrix' killing spree he had lost many of his most loyal and strongest servants. And there was no sign of Potter yet. In front of him stood his new inner circle. He had had to promote some of the members of the outer circle to fill the open spots. But the new members didn't even slightly have the power and experience of the old ones.

"Severus, report." He said, wanting to know how things at Hogwarts were going.

"Well, we have some fools that think they could oppose the new regime as you had expected it to be. They are being slowly broken by being denied dinner every day for two weeks after a new act of rebellion. If we know that somebody has opposed the new order, the person serves as a training dummy for your loyal followers in the use of the cruciatus curse. Soon they will understand that there is no way for them to succeed in their foolish attempts. The younger years are coming along as planned as they haven't been exposed to Dumbledore's brainwashing for long."

"Who are the ones opposing the new order?" Voldemort asked.

"Potter's friends, the Weasley girl, the Longbottom boy and some others. I think they are the remains of the group that was built to defy Umbridge two years ago. But they are just school children that think they can do anything with their noble ideas. Amycus, Alecto and I have everything under control." Snape reported.

"Good. That is about what I had predicted. Get the whole student body to obey the rules. Well, they will be much less rebellious after we have taken one of their own prisoner. I want the Lovegood girl. Her father is printing propaganda for Potter and I won't allow it to continue. And the Weasley girl. From what Lucius told me she has been possessed by my old diary in her first year at school. It would be nice playing with her before I break her and use her to get Potter out of hiding. She is nothing but a bloodtraitor, so it won't be a big loss. And despite being mentally broken she can still bear pureblood children." Voldemort said calmly.

"Of course my Lord. It will be done. I'll instruct your student servants what you want to have done. They will see to it that the girls will be ready to be taken from the train by two others. Who do you want to take them to you my Lord?" Snape asked.

"I think that will be a job for Crabbe and Goyle." Voldemort decided.

Then Voldemort turned to his massively decimated Death Eaters. How he hated that Reaper and whoever dared to put Bellatrix under the imperius curse. The investigation of Bellatrix' remains had shown remains of the imperius and a memory charm. Sadly he couldn't break memory charms on dead people. Otherwise he would have been able to find out who had done this. This was not the way the Order of the Phoenix worked. Dumbledore had trained them to be too nice. Stupid really, how did the old fool expect to win the war if he refused to kill his opponents? After all, a dead opponent didn't pose a problem any longer after he died. That was why he was so successful. He didn't fear to use his power to have the weak wizards shiver in fear even if he wasn't present. They feared to even speak his name, now with the taboo he had already gotten some rebels this way.

"How is the training of the recruits coming along?" He asked Selvana Gwyer, the witch in charge of the training of his recruits.

"It's going as planned, my Lord. We got most of the absolvents of last year's seventh year Slytherin class to join us. But they're severely lacking in any useful combat skills. The education at Hogwarts has fallen so badly under Dumbledore; we have to work up on a lot. They should be ready for low level raids in two months. They all can cast the cruciatus curse but except for two lack the intent to cast it really successful."

Voldemort wasn't pleased with this and Gwyer felt it when he cast the cruciatus on her. She screamed until he decided she was punished enough.

"That isn't fast enough; put them through the most intense training ever. With our recent losses we need to fill up our ranks as soon as possible. We need to take out this Reaper; he seems to be the only one who dares to use lethal force against us. If he dies, the others will continue to cover in fear. Without the ragtag to print propaganda, nobody would even know about him. But that will soon change. Anyway, get your recruits used to fighting in dragon hide armour. We have found out that the reason my loyal servants died in the fights against him is solely due to poison on his blade.

"If we take away the possibility for him to cut anybody, the poison can't kill them. Runcorn, did you find out what kind of poison was used?" Voldemort asked.

"No, not yet. The experts are still analysing the blood for which kind of poison it is. We could determine that it is some kind of snake venom; we just don't know the species yet. It seems to be a rare kind." Albert Runcorn said.

"I see; this Reaper seems to want to mock me by using snake venom to poison my Death Eaters during fights. Me, the heir of Salazar Slytherin. He will regret it. I want him dead or alive. Preferably alive so I can show him how foolish it is to try and defy Lord Voldemort."

The Death Eaters were silent. None of them wanted to be the next victim of the cruciatus curse after all.

* * *

**The plot is getting thicker. What will happen next? Will Ron and Hermione get their due from Ginny? What is Anubis' role in the war? You will find out in one of the next chapters**.


	7. Alarm on the Hogwarts Express

**And here I proudly present the next chapter. Things are moving now that the horcruxes are gone. Happy reading and thanks to all those that write reviews. I'm really impressed that so many leave them. I mean over 140 revies in just six chapters is fantastic.**

* * *

**Alarm on the Hogwarts Express**

Ginny, Neville, Luna, Parvati, Lavender and Seamus sat in their compartment at the Hogwarts Express. They all were looking forward to seeing their families again for Christmas. Ginny just wished she could be able to see Harry as well. But she didn't know if he would deem it safe enough. He was so stupidly noble most of the time even if he had realized that separating him from her had been a big mistake on his part.

"So, Ginny, are you looking forward to seeing your folks again?" Parvati asked.

"Yes, I do. I missed Mum and Dad and my brothers. I'm sometimes worried sick at school hoping that nothing bad happens to them." Ginny answered pushing a strand of her long red hair behind her ear.

"I understand you, I'm also glad that I didn't get any bad news about Gran." Neville said nodding solemnly.

* * *

Harry had managed to sneak onto the train and was now hiding under his invisibility cloak. Anubis had been disillusioned. They both had taken positions near the compartment Ginny and his friends were in. Actually Harry had managed to put a compulsion charm onto their compartment for them to settle inside and he sat in the neighbour compartment, which had a compulsion for everybody to just pass it over for another one. As the train wasn't full like it normally was, nobody even thought about fighting the compulsion. Harry had to wait for anybody trying to abduct Luna and perhaps some of the others. He only knew about Luna for sure but if given the opportunity he didn't doubt that they would do something to the others too. One hour and forty minutes passed until something happened.

Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott were coming along the corridor and went straight for the compartment of Ginny and the others. Harry had left the door of his compartment slightly open so he could listen to their conversation.

"What do we have here? A bunch of blood traitors. Well, now you'll pay for your disobedience. Lovegood, Weasley, you'll come with us and don't even think you can oppose us, you stand no chance." Malfoy sneered his wand ready to fire a nasty curse.

The other four had their wands pointed inside the compartment. Harry donned his black cloak and his black gloves, took the sword of Gryffindor and strapped the sheath onto his back and undid the disillusionment charm on Anubis. He nodded to his companion and opened the door. Anubis, in his adult transformation, was the first to exit the compartment and he growled at the junior Death Eaters.

"The Grim!" Pansy shrieked terrified pointing at Anubis.

"What?" Malfoy asked shocked, looking at the creature Pansy pointed at.

All the junior Death Eaters blanched. It really was a Grim. But how did a Grim get onto the train? Then all their fears doubled as the figure they had heard so much about in the last weeks slowly exited the compartment next to the one the blood traitors sat in. The Reaper lifted his arm and pointed it at Malfoy. His wand went flying through the air and the Reaper skilfully caught it. It was all the distraction the occupants of the compartment needed to disarm the other junior Death Eaters. The Reaper silently stunned them and conjured ropes to bind them.

"That's taken care off." He said.

"Thanks for the help." Neville said smiling while tying up Goyle with vindictive pleasure on his face.

Anubis, who had shrunk again was now petted by Ginny and Luna. He licked over Ginny's face who laughed at the puppy's antics. Parvati and Lavender were still slightly panicking over seeing a Grim. They were too much into Divination and Professor Trelawney's death predictions.

"No problem. I couldn't just let them kidnap them. I only knew about the plans to abduct Luna because her father continues printing articles against Riddle. They wanted to blackmail him to print propaganda for them." Harry explained.

He turned to Luna.

"Don't worry, your father got a warning and has gone into hiding. He will collect you at the station and take you to his safe house. It would probably be better if you stayed with him for some time. I don't know if they would go so far as to try taking you from the school." Harry explained.

"What should I do? They were also after me?" Ginny asked frowning.

"Discuss it with your family. It won't be long until I can challenge Tom for the last duel. I've finished my task and it's time to end this war once and for all. But I need to prepare the battle ground and gather allies before it can happen." Harry answered.

Neville seemed to realize who was under the cloak.

"Harry?" He asked surprised in a low voice his face showing his surprise.

Harry turned to Ginny.

"So you didn't tell them?" He asked curiously.

"No, I thought you didn't want anybody else to know about it." She said shrugging.

The others stared at their masked friend.

"Let's go inside your compartment to talk. We only have a bit of time before some senior Death Eaters will turn up to take Luna and Ginny from those idiots." He pointed at the unconscious junior Death Eaters.

"But before I start explaining, help me put them into the compartment I was in before, there are compulsion charms that keep others out of there. So it will take some time until they are found."

They levitated the bound five into the compartment and Harry added a silencing charm to the compulsion charm to prevent them from getting help.

Then they went back into the compartment Ginny and the others had been in. Harry performed the spells he had used when he had still been camping with Hermione and Ron. This way the compartment was safe for them. Normally the Death Eaters shouldn't even be able to find them now.

"Well, I guess you have some questions." Harry started, his hand behind his head.

"Harry, please stop making any gestures like that. It is creepy as hell seeing the Reaper behaving embarrassed." Parvati said exasperatedly.

"Ups, sorry. Bad habit I guess." Harry answered. He took of the hood of his black cloak and then of his invisibility cloak.

"Better?" He asked.

"Yes." Neville answered. "So, you have been the one to take out those Death Eaters. I have to say good job mate."

"I wish I didn't have to do it, but nobody else would do it if I didn't take care of the Death Eaters. I can only tell myself that with every Death Eater I kill, I protect countless innocents from them. I hate being forced to kill them." Harry admitted his head down.

Ginny held his hand. Harry had gotten better now. She saw the pain in his eyes, but there was also strength. He wouldn't break, but once everything was over, he would need support. She fondly remembered the talk she had had with McGonagall some weeks ago.

* * *

_Flashback_

Ginny sat in McGonagall's office for a discussion about the last transfiguration lesson. This had been a regular occurrence this year as McGonagall was passing along messages from her parents that couldn't be sent by owl.

"So, how are you holding up, Ginny? I know things are horrible this year, but we have to keep going as hard as it may be." McGonagall said.

"It's alright. I know the teachers can't do much against the Carrows. We're just trying to protect the younger years from the worst things, even if we get harsher punishments." Ginny answered.

Minerva sighed. She knew about this and was so proud of her lions. She wished she could do more for them, but there was nothing that could be done. With Voldemort backing the Carrows up, those that disobeyed them would soon be found dead or at least out of Hogwarts.

"I wish I could do more to help." She sighed.

"I know. Professor, can I ask a question that has nothing to do with Transfiguration but more a personal interest?" Ginny asked tensely.

"Of course, what do you want to know?" McGonagall asked wondering what this was about.

"Why was Harry never given the informative talks about getting used to the magical world that all the other muggleborns got?" Ginny asked looking fiercely at her head of house.

She hadn't expected a question like that. Where did it come from?

"Well, he isn't a muggleborn, so he wasn't on the list. And he didn't sign up for them either, so I thought he was informed about things." She replied.

"How in Merlin's name did you figure that out? Harry was at the same level of knowledge as the other muggleborns. His relatives hated magic and in particular him. He was drilled from early childhood to never ask questions or be punished. Of course he wouldn't ask for more information. He feared it would lead to him being punished again. And the one who took him to Diagon Alley for his first visit was Hagrid. He is a great guy, but how would he know what differences about wizarding and muggle world?

"Harry told me how he stood out during their trip on the London underground. He doesn't even know about muggle currency, the most basic thing if you take a student to Diagon Alley. And if it hadn't been for my family running across Harry at King's Cross Harry would have missed the train because he didn't know how to get to the platform. Even if his aunt knew, she didn't tell him out of spite. He has struggled for so long because he didn't get enough information and now he is out there trying to find a way to defeat Tom." Ginny ranted. "And didn't Hagrid tell how he had to rescue Harry from that hut in the sea where his uncle took the family to escape the many letters that Hogwarts sent to Harry? How Hagrid had to tell Harry that he was a wizard?"

Minerva felt really bad and stupid now. Hearing it like this, she saw the flaw in her reasoning. Hell, she had seen how the Dursleys were that day in 1981. She shouldn't have believed Albus' reassurances that Harry was well cared for. Merlin, she had seen how small and skinny he was when he arrived at school. It should have been obvious then that he wouldn't know a thing about the magical world.

"I can only say I'm sorry now. In hindsight it's obvious. But I thought even if he didn't know something, Miss Granger would have told him." McGonagall tried to explain.

Ginny had to suppress a very scathing remark about Hermione. She couldn't give away too much information about Harry and that she had met him.

"Hermione was too concerned about being the best student and learning all she could. I know Harry and Ron were both overwhelmed by her attitude." She replied instead. "And with Harry never asking about things, how could he if he didn't know what to ask for until he needed it, you get the picture."

Minerva nodded. She had failed her little lion again. Hopefully it wouldn't lead to him failing his mission because he got into a situation he didn't know about, but others would see as obvious.

Flashback end

* * *

"What will you do when the Death Eaters come to the train?" Neville asked.

"Kill them as fast as possible. There's no other way. They could use the students as hostages against me if I didn't. I have one advantage though; they don't know I'm here. I'll put on my disguise again and take them out." Harry said sadly.

"By the way, how can you kill them with just giving them small cuts with your sword?" Parvati asked.

"It is embedded with basilisk venom. This sword is the sword of Gryffindor, which I pulled out of the sorting hat in our second year. When I killed the basilisk, it absorbed the venom, as goblin forged metal only can be influenced by things that strengthens it." Harry explained.

The others understood. The sword was a powerful weapon and they were glad that it was Harry who wielded the sword and not Voldemort. Suddenly the train slowed down.

"Shit, this is it. I need to take care of the Death Eaters." Harry said standing up from his seat.

He quickly put his invisibility cloak back on and the black cloak over it. He stepped out of the compartment and Anubis followed him.

"Can you believe it? I knew Harry was fighting Riddle, but to think that he would be the Reaper." Seamus asked.

"I know it is a big thing, but we have to keep it quiet. Tom wants to take them both out as they are symbols of resistance. As long as he doesn't know that Harry is the Reaper he has to waste resources to look for two fugitives instead of one." Ginny said.

„You're right. I'm glad that he's preparing for the last battle. I'll be at his side when he fights. He can't take care of everything. If only all the capable wizards and witches in Britain would unite to fight Riddle, we wouldn't have the problems we do. But fear makes most people unable to defend themselves. I'm just glad that Harry was the one to teach us." Neville agreed holding his wand ready in case somebody came for them.

"Yes, without the DA we wouldn't have learned what we needed to defend ourselves and how to stand up to darkness. I'll be right beside you in the battle, Neville." Seamus said also having his wand in his hands like the others in the compartment.

The others just nodded. They had been formed into a group by Harry two years ago in their resistance against Umbridge. They had continued resistance against the Carrows this year while Harry took care of things outside of Hogwarts and prepared their chance to finally get rid of Voldemort. And now both parts would join again and do what was right and not sit back and hope somebody took care of the problem.

* * *

Harry waited near the front of the train, as the Death Eaters needed to board there. The train finally stopped like it did in his third year when the dementors searched the train for Sirius. He felt the pang of pain but shoved it away. He didn't have time for it now; he had a job to do. He recognized both Death Eaters immediately. Tom had sent the adult versions of dumb and dumber or better known as Crabbe and Goyle. He waited until they had boarded. They only had a split second to realize that the Reaper was waiting for them before their wands flew through the air and Harry and Anubis charged at them.

Anubis bit Crabbe into the leg; Harry cut Goyle's hand when the man tried to attack physically. Harry didn't wait for long and turned to attack Crabbe with the sword. He couldn't get a good hit in, so he fired a stunner at the large man. He was surprised that the stunner didn't work.

"You won't kill us as easily anymore, Reaper. We know your secret and the Dark Lord gave us dragon hide armour to protect us from your snake venom on the sword." He boasted.

Harry grinned. Not that they could see it. Bad guys were so stupid. Now he knew what he could await in the last battle.

"Thanks for the information. That makes things easier for me. Now I know what to look out for. But you forgot one fatal error of dragon hide armour." He told his opponent in a deep voice.

"Oh, and what would that be?" Crabbe asked.

Harry shot a _reducto_ at his head. Crabbe's head exploded in a shower of blood.

Harry cringed at the mess he had made. Goyle had already fallen to the ground dead.

"The weakness is that it doesn't protect your head and hands, idiot." He answered the last question of his opponent.

Harry quickly vanished the blood and gore and threw the corpses of the two Death Eaters from the train. Then he went to the driver's cabin. The driver was scared shitless seeing the Reaper enter his cabin.

"Please don't kill me. I didn't do anything wrong. I couldn't avoid stopping the train." He begged.

„I'm not here to kill you; I'm here to tell you to start the train. There are parents waiting for their children at Kings Cross Station. The Death Eaters have been dealt with. And I don't kill innocents." Harry said with a deep voice.

The driver nodded frantically and started the train again. Harry returned to his friends.

"The problem has been solved. I doubt Tom will find out before the train is back in London and you're all safe with your families again." Harry told them.

Neville nodded.

"What are your plans to prepare for the battle?" He asked.

"I'll try to take some more Death Eaters out, rally the remaining Order of the Phoenix and choose the battlefield. It would be best if I had a place without bystanders that could be hurt in the fight. I also need to train duelling. Now that the problem of Tom's method to cheat death is solved, I need to be at the top of my game when I confront him." Harry answered.

"You know about the taboo on his name?" Neville said thoughtfully.

"Yes, Kreacher told me when he helped me getting rid of a cold some time ago." Harry answered wondering what Neville was up to.

"What do you think about setting up ambushes for the Death Eaters? I mean, we know that they track those who say Riddle's name with it and that it destroys all protections and wards around the place. What if you used that fact to take them out? I'm sure we could get enough people to help with that. I mean, except for Ginny and Luna we're all able to apparate and don't have the trace on us anymore. We could put together some teams during the holidays to make Riddle's life more difficult." Neville suggested.

Harry was dumbfounded. That was a fantastic idea.

"Neville, you're a genius. That would be the easiest way to deplete his forces. And I'm sure we could get a lot of them during the first few attacks. They would probably find out our intentions soon, but we would probably have a week before they changed their methods." Harry said.

He looked at his friends seriously.

"Are you ready to not pull any punches? We need to take them out, so we'll probably kill some of them. I have thought about possibilities of detaining them, but with Azkaban being in Tom's hands and the Ministry being on his side, we don't have any facility to keep them all prisoners. I had thought about the Chamber of Secrets, but that is not practical. So our choice of spells will be blasting hexes, cutting curses and the like. Except one of you has a huge facility to keep dozens of Death Eaters prisoner under the draught of living death." Harry reminded them of the severity of their situation.

"Yes, we're ready, Harry. We've lived through the kind of world they want to create. If they are capable of torturing first years, then we need to stop them as soon as we can. If I have to kill to protect others, I'll do it. They were the ones to pull us into the war, now they'll have to face the consequences." Neville replied firmly.

"I don't like that we have to kill, but Neville is right. Every dead Death Eater will be worth hundreds of people that can live peacefully. And it won't be murder; it will be putting rabid animals down. They lost the right to call themselves humans long ago." Seamus agreed.

"I want to see peace again. I want to be able to go shopping with my friends in Diagon Alley without fear. I want to be the one to decide who I'm friends with regardless of their blood status. I don't want to have to worry about my friends being sent to Azkaban because their parents are muggles." Parvati added determined.

"I'll always support you, Harry. I love you and I want to have a future with you. So don't you dare dying on me. We'll all make sure you get your chance to kill Tom. Luna and I may not be able to help you with the ambushes, but we'll be ready to take care of any wounds you may get. And in the final battle we'll fight with you. We'll fight for the future we want against the dark age the Death Eaters stand for." Ginny said, pulling Harry down for an intensive kiss which he happily returned.

"We are your friends, Harry. You have been the best friend we could have hoped for. You have been the teacher we needed to defend ourselves and to find the courage to stand up for what is right. I know you'll be the leader we need to win this war." Luna stated once Harry and Ginny had separated again.

Harry nodded touched. He hadn't expected this kind of support. It was good to know that he had some friends left that were standing beside him.

"You really are the best friends I could have wished for. I'll think up some locations where we can take out those who are sent to catch those who say Tom's name. I'll send word with Kreacher to inform you about them. And I'll try to involve The Order of the Phoenix. I'm sure they would be willing to help." Harry told them.

„You're right. Where will you go when we're back in London?" Lavender asked.

"I don't know yet. I'll keep hidden at the station until you are gone with your parents. It would also be best if you don't know my location, so you can't be forced to tell anybody."

They nodded. Harry's words made sense.

"Ginny, can you ask your brothers if they want to help with the operation?"

"Of course, Harry." She assured him.

* * *

They spent the rest of the journey talking about the things that had happened at Hogwarts; Harry told them what had happened to him while he had been searching for the horcruxes. Of course he didn't tell them what he had been looking for in detail, just that it was important to destroy them to finally be able to kill Voldemort. Eventually the train arrived at Kings Cross Station and the others left first to give Harry and Ginny some privacy.

Ginny didn't waste any time with talking; she pulled Harry towards her and started a passionate snogging session. Harry was not complaining at all and returned the kiss with the same vigour. He knew he would miss her terribly.

"I know you won't try to go hunting Riddle immediately, but please be careful and don't do anything stupid." She pleaded once they had separated.

"I promise. I want to come back to you. And I've understood that I can't win the war on my own." He assured her.

"You better. Will you try to visit me at home? My family would love to see you again."

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything. I'm still the most wanted man in the country. If the Burrow isn't watched I'll come but nobody can see me. I don't want to endanger your family anymore than it already is. Knowing that you're connected to me is one thing, hiding me at your house is another." Harry said seriously.

"I know, I just don't want to let you go. I'll call my family and as many Order members and tell them what happened. Probably they'll put all our houses under the Fidelius." Ginny pondered.

"Then I just need to be told your location by the secret keeper to safely visit. You can contact me through Kreacher. He will listen to your call." Harry said.

They shared one more kiss before Ginny had to leave.

"I love you, Harry, and we'll take out Tom together." She promised holding his hand.

"I love you too, Ginny. Stay strong." He said, sadly letting her hand go.

Harry put his invisibility cloak over him and Anubis and they left the train together with Ginny. When they departed the train, Ginny ran to her mother and brother Bill and let herself be hugged by them. Harry looked sadly at her when they immediately took Ginny's luggage for the holidays and disapparated. He looked around and saw that the others had already left and turned on the spot and disapparated himself.

* * *

**That's it for this week. Until next weekend.**


	8. Meeting at the Weasleys

**Hi Fans.**

**I'm back for this week's update. And for the one reviewer who asked about the title of the story, there is a reason, even if it will be revealed later in the story. I won't take away the surprise. Thanks for all the reviews, I try to do my best. Now happy reading.**

* * *

**Meeting at the Weasley's**

Ginny, Molly and Bill apparated in front of the Burrow, just outside of the protective wards.

"Welcome home, Ginny." Molly said warmly.

"Thanks, Mum, it's good to be home. Are the others here too?" She asked looking at Molly.

"Your father and Charlie are here. Fred and George are at their shop." Molly informed her.

"Okay, that makes it easier, but we need them all here, I have important news for all Weasleys. And it would be best if we could assemble as many Order members as possible. Don't ask why I want them all here, something happened on the train that I don't want to discuss in the open and I really don't want to repeat the explanations many times." Ginny told her.

Bill held his wand at her face.

"What did I tell you when you were visiting me in Egypt after your first year at school?" He asked despite the protest of Molly.

Ginny was glad her brother took safety serious.

"You told me that despite what Tom made me do, I was still your little sister and you'd always love me." She answered looking into his eyes.

Bill smiled and lowered his wand.

"Sorry, Ginny, but I had to be sure you aren't an impostor." Bill apologized.

"No you're right. I should have asked questions as well." Ginny smiled back.

"Alright, I'll take care of calling as many Order members as possible as well as Fred and George." Molly said.

Ginny nodded and let her mother and brother lead her to her home.

Half an hour later the Weasleys were assembled in the kitchen. Additionally Kingsley, Remus, Tonks, Andromeda, Minerva and the old Gryffindor Quidditch team were present. The twins had called their old team-mates in for additional help.

"Okay, Ginny, what do you have to tell us?" Bill asked.

"Are the wards strong enough to be absolutely sure that nobody can listen into our conversation? This is really important and the Death Eaters mustn't find out about this." Ginny asked Bill seriously.

"Yes, the only way inside is by being accompanied by a Weasley, well except for Percy, he isn't keyed into the wards. They are the strongest wards I could put up short of a Fidelius." Bill confirmed.

"Good. Are we sure that everybody here is who he says he is?" She asked looking around.

"Yes, we checked for glamour charms and polyjuice potion. We also asked security questions." Fred assured her.

"Then I can start. As I already told Mum and Bill, something happened on the train. I'll come to that later, first I want to give you some more information on Harry's mission." She said only to be interrupted.

"You met Harry?" Remus asked hopefully.

"Yes, and he is safe at the moment. By the way, where are those traitors Ron and Hermione? I want to kill them for what they put Harry through." She said sneering.

"They have left the country for France two weeks ago. With the increasing hunts for muggleborns, Hermione was not safe here anymore. They left through the Chunnel with a muggle train. It would have been too dangerous for everybody involved as they didn't have the means to camp anymore as Harry had the tent they had used. And they didn't know how to complete the mission from Dumbledore." Fleur explained.

"Too bad. I had originally wanted to send them a howler, but with the Carrows screening the mail, that was impossible. Would have been hard to explain how I knew what had happened to Harry." Ginny grumbled. "Well, back to my story. Harry had the job to find certain things called …" She tried to say horcruxes but couldn't.

"Don't worry. This seems to be a curse Dumbledore put on the knowledge about the things Harry is tasked to find to keep the secret. Obviously only Harry can talk about them to others that aren't in the know." Bill explained. "Ron and Hermione couldn't tell us anything either."

Ginny nodded. It was annoying but okay.

"Okay. Harry had the job to find those things and originally Hermione and Ron were meant to help him. But during their search the two became irritated with Harry's lack of a plan as they told him one evening in October. An argument about the sword of Gryffindor, which is necessary to destroy the things as it is imbued with basilisk venom, made Ron turn on Harry. Hermione originally tried to calm both down, but for once Harry shouted back. He had just taken one hit too much from Ron. It led to Hermione putting up a shield between the two and Ron storming out of the tent after leaving the thing they had found, Slytherin's locket, there.

"First Harry thought Hermione had only tried to stop Ron, but she also disapparated with him. Harry was left alone in the rain in the tent without any supplies. He waited the whole night, trying to get warm with no clothes to change into and as you know the tent doesn't have a warm shower, he only managed to warm small amounts of water to get a bit warmer. Hermione had everything in her expanded bag. A clear planning error on her part. Well, Harry waited until noon before he regretfully realized that they wouldn't come back, they didn't even send him a message. So he packed everything he had left together and disapparated from the spot they had been staying.

"Convinced that he had nobody left to help him with his task he went to the one place where he knew he would at least find shelter and some food. He went to his relatives' house, used an old key he had hidden in the garden and let himself inside. There Harry developed a bad cold from running around in the rain the night before when he had tried to find Ron and Hermione."

Ginny took a moment to collect herself. She was still mad as hell at her brother and her friend. The others didn't look happy either. Especially Remus and Tonks knew how much Harry hated his relatives' house. Harry hated the place as much as Sirius had hated Grimmauld Place. To return there showed Harry's desperation.

"I know the two made a horrible mistake Ginny, but they told us what had happened when they were here because they couldn't find Harry anywhere. They were attacked by snatchers when they wanted to go back and had to heal their injuries. They spent the night at the old home of Hermione's dead grandmother. They bought new supplies before they went back, but by then he was gone. It was a terrible misunderstanding. We already told them off for their error of judgment." Molly explained.

"You mean Harry went through hell because they didn't think? That's just great. And Hermione always tells Harry off for not thinking things through. At least he doesn't leave his friends behind. He would go through hell and back to protect them. But it won't do any good if I kept complaining. When I see them, I'll give them a piece of my mind." _Including some well-aimed bat bogey hexes and some other creative curses._ She mentally added. "Back to the story. Harry fell ill at his relatives' house and tried to get better with simple muggle ways. Sadly he didn't have any medicine, so he was miserable. Thankfully he remembered Kreacher and called him. Kreacher saw the plight Harry was in and got Harry some potions against his cold.

"Harry pondered while getting better that he didn't learn enough at school to be really prepared for the mission and decided to review all his old school books. He had depended on Hermione too much and decided it had to stop. So while Kreacher got him supplies for potions and ready made ones for common ailments, Harry made lists of spells he needed to learn or perfect from his old school books, which he had left at Privet Drive. From Kreacher he found out that as Harry's elf Kreacher could access Harry's vaults, yes plural, therefore solving his monetary problem. Harry also realized that he didn't know enough about the wizarding world to really blend in, he would always stick out and be recognized as somebody not raised in the wizarding world." Ginny continued telling Harry's story.

"That's the reason you asked me why I didn't teach him about the particularities of the wizarding world in comparison with the muggle world." Minerva realized.

"Yes, Professor. So many things have been neglected regarding Harry that it is a wonder he persevered until now. I mean, it is a sad testament of failure that Harry had to ask a house-elf caught up in pureblood supremacy for information about traditions, regular behaviour, stories children heard growing up and important places." She said looking at all the adults in the room. People who cared for Harry and should have realized the problem.

All the adults looked guilty. They had all just assumed Harry knew and left it at that. They forgot that things that were normal for them weren't for Harry and in the current political climate being seen as an outsider to society could be his downfall. After all, Voldemort wanted Harry dead.

"Harry used the time he spent at Privet Drive to get stronger and make a better plan. After some weeks of learning and recovering from the hiding in the wild, he went to his next destination, Godric's Hollow. He wanted to visit his parents' grave. He stayed at his parents' old house, only the first floor is damaged, the ground floor is usable. He slept in the guest room. When he entered his nursery, he was hit with some memories that must have been left there when Riddle was destroyed. He saw the whole thing from Riddle's point of view. He saw how his parents were murdered." Ginny said, her voice constricting, wringing her hands.

Everybody was equally saddened by the thought that Harry had to see that. They looked at the floor, trying to think how hard that must have been on Harry.

"The next day…" Ginny continued. "…he finally went to the graveyard. He found the grave and left a bouquet of flowers there and spoke with them, well, he told them about his life. When he left the graveyard, he heard a commotion and went to find out what it was about. He saw some muggle brutes attacking a small animal while the priest at the church there tried to protect the animal. Harry put the fear of the devil in the brutes and they ran away. He said it was a technique he coincidentally developed where his magic was projected outside of his body. He can influence the feelings of those with weak minds somewhat.

"Well, they ran and he asked the priest if he was alright. He went with the priest, who happened to have christened Harry when he was an infant, and helped taking care of the injuries of the animal, a black puppy. The priest didn't think he could save the dog, but Harry asked him to let him take the dog and nurse back to health. Harry found out, once he was home and ran some ran some basic diagnostic charms, that the dog was magical. He gave it diluted blood replenishing potion and healed the cuts and bruises. But the dog didn't get better. Harry loudly pondered if Fawkes could help, like he did with Harry in the Chamber and to his surprise Fawkes appeared."

"Wait. Harry could call Fawkes to him?" Molly asked surprised.

Ginny nodded.

"He doesn't know why as well. But Fawkes showed him how to save the dog. Harry bonded it as his familiar, using a mix of water, a drop of Harry's blood and three of Fawkes' tears. He named the dog Anubis." She said.

Bill perked up. He knew that name from his work in Egypt. He had a suspicion.

"Ginny, Anubis isn't by any chance a Grim?" He asked, shocking the others who knew what Bill was insinuating.

"Yes, he is and he is really cute and loves being cuddled." Ginny confirmed grinning.

"So Harry is the Reaper?" Remus asked.

"Yes." Ginny said shocking many in the room.

Molly seemed shaken by the fact that the boy she saw as one of her sons had decided to use lethal methods to fight against the Death Eaters. Others looked as if they fully supported Harry's decision.

"And that is why I met him and know this story. When Harry went on a walk with Anubis to show the priest how well Anubis had recovered, they were witnesses to a raid of Death Eaters. Harry couldn't stand at the side and let innocents be tortured and killed, so he disguised himself as the Reaper and Anubis, to Harry's surprise grew into his adult form."

"The Peverell line and the Deathly Hallows." Andromeda said astonished.

"What are you talking about, Mum?" Tonks asked.

"I told you the tale of the Three Brothers when you were a child Dora, do you remember?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes, where the brothers crossed a river using magic therefore cheating death. Death gave each brother a present for being so smart and magically powerful. The oldest got an unbeatable wand, the second a stone to resurrect the dead and the youngest the cloak of invisibility of death itself. The first brother died after boasting his wand couldn't be beat, being killed in his sleep, the second tried to call back the girl he had loved, but she wasn't really alive and suffered, so he killed himself to be with her, the youngest lived a long life with death being incapable of finding him. When he was old, he took off the cloak and gave it to his son, following death like an old friend." Tonks summarized the story.

"Some people think there is more to the story. The Elder Wand exists and is known through history. You may have heard of the Deathstick, or the Wand of Destiny. The stone isn't as well known, but what I heard about Harry's cloak of invisibility, which he inherited from James, it would fit the description of the third brother's cloak. These three objects are sometimes known as the Deathly Hallows. Xeno Lovegood is a believer I think. Legend has it that the one to unite the Hallows will become the Master of Death. Rumours are that the three brothers were Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus Peverell. I don't know if that is true, but I came upon the legend during my studies for my mastery in History." Andromeda explained.

"I understand." Fleur said realizing what Andromeda was trying to tell them.

"You zink zat 'arry is a descendant of Ignotus Peverell because of ze cloak and his new familiar, which is a Grim. A Grim is a guardian of spirits, which is why zey only bond to zose with a connection to death. Which would be ze Peverell line." She said.

"Exactly. There have been documented familiar bonds between members of the Peverell line and Grims in history. Members of that family are also known for friendly relations with other magical creatures if they are generally worthy enough of the acceptance of a Grim." Andromeda confirmed.

"Which would explain Fawkes' fondness for Harry." Fred stated.

"Or Hedwig's close bond, Buckbeak and Crookshanks. That cat was never fond of Ron, but it loved Harry." George added.

"Does Harry know that he is probably a descendant of Ignotus Peverell?" Andromeda asked Ginny.

"Yes, it was in Dumbledore's journal which Fawkes brought to Harry. Harry also found out that he could simply call the sword to him as long as no other Gryffindor had won the allegiance of the sword. Which was a really big advantage in the fights against Death Eaters because of the basilisk venom on the blade. One cut with it and they were poisoned. In the fight against the Death Eaters Harry also killed Nagini, Riddle's snake. It was one of the things he needed to find and destroy. As it happened in a fight and Riddle doesn't know about Harry being the Reaper his mission wasn't compromised.

"But Harry suffered horribly after he had killed the Death Eaters. He got physically sick from it. He managed to get to his home with Anubis but he had to throw up immediately after the adrenaline wore off. While he managed a night of sleep with dreamless sleep potion, it came back after he woke up. Harry couldn't deal with killing them even if they couldn't have been reformed. He logically knew it but it didn't help him. That is where I came in. Fawkes flashed to my dorm and got me to help Harry over his guilt. I left one of the twins' dolls as a decoy behind and flashed out with Fawkes.

"Harry was a mess when I found him. I didn't recognize him at first but when I saw his eyes I knew it was him. He has dyed his hair brown to not stand out so much and has grown it out a bit. With brown contacts he isn't recognizable at first sight. And more than that the Death Eaters won't spare him if they are around. His scar can be covered with muggle make up as well. It took some time but I got Harry to tell me everything. He was afraid I'd hate him."

"But why would Fawkes get you to help him?" Molly asked Ginny confused.

"Because I love Harry and he loves me. We were together the last weeks at school last year, Mum. He only broke up with me because he thought Riddle would target me if we were still together. But I made him see that I was a target because of our family being seen as blood traitors already and now we're back together. We both know we can't show it openly yet, but I wanted him to know that I'd always be there for him." Ginny said fiercely.

Remus and Tonks smiled at each other, so did Bill and Fleur. Both couples knew how important love was. Ginny continued.

"Thanks to Kreacher's information Harry was able to narrow the probable locations of the last two objects down. As the locket, the ring, the diary and the snake were already down, only two were remaining. Harry knew one object was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff."

"So there is a connection to the founders in the objects Harry was looking for?" Remus interrupted.

"Yes. Dumbledore showed Harry last year what he knew about Riddle's past. They found the original hiding place of the locket in a cave full of inferi. Drinking a potion that was the defence for the locket which weakened Dumbledore and led to his death on the Astronomy Tower. Harry, Ron and Hermione found out that Regulus Black, Sirius' brother, had stolen the real locket long before from Kreacher and that Mundungus had stolen it from Grimmauld Place, which led to them infiltrating the Ministry to steal it from Umbridge, who had taken it from Mundungus." Ginny explained.

The adults were looking disappointed that because of the thief in the Order the mission had become more difficult for Harry.

"Harry and I agreed in our brainstorming session that Riddle would probably want to hide his objects in important places. Either they were important for him because important events of his personal history happened there, his heritage was connected to them or he saw them as status symbols in the wizarding world. Harry had told Ron and Hermione for ages that he thought one object was hidden at Hogwarts. The first place Riddle could call home. It is additionally the place where all important witches and wizards in Great Britain were educated. There he started his rise to power, so it made sense to hide one there, despite Hermione's disbelief." Ginny couldn't stop herself from making that jibe.

"The second location, Harry thought, could be Gringotts. We pondered as he used the help of his most loyal followers to hide two of his objects, even if they didn't know what they had, we thought there could be more like that. Lucius Malfoy got the diary that proved Riddle being the heir of Slytherin. Regulus Black gave him his house elf to help with the locket. He only turned against Riddle after he found out what he had done and hidden. So the logical choice for another hidden object was Bellatrix Lestrange, the most faithful of all of his servants. Harry used his knowledge that Bellatrix did a monthly visit to Diagon Alley on every first of the month to abduct her.

"He put her under veritaserum, Kreacher stole it from Slughorn at Hogwarts, and found out all the names of Death Eaters, supporters, financers, the structure of command, plans for operations and so on. He also questioned her about the object and could confirm his theory that she really kept one in her vault at Gringotts."

Ginny asked for something to drink. The long speaking dried out her mouth and now she had to tell the difficult part. Meanwhile the others were impressed with the importance that information would mean to those fighting Voldemort. If they could attack him at more than one front, he would have a harder time to counter them. They could target single Death Eaters, knowing what they did. The only reason the Death Eaters were so feared was their ruthlessness and them attacking in larger numbers.

Bill, Fred and George suspected something was amiss and Bill asked his suspicion.

"Harry had to use a dark curse to get Bellatrix to cooperate and get the object for him, didn't he? I can't imagine polyjuice potion would work with the protections for the deeper and older vaults. It had to be Bellatrix herself that got it out of the vault."

Ginny nodded sadly.

„You're right Bill. He had to use the _imperius_ curse. There was no other way to get the object and it was vital for it to be destroyed so Harry can kill Riddle." She confirmed.

Bill paled.

"You say the objects have to be destroyed so Riddle can die?" He asked in a low voice, pale as a sheet.

"Yes. Do you know what they are, Bill? If you do, perhaps you can explain it without falling to the jinx Dumbledore put on the information." Ginny said hopefully.

"Yes, I came across some of those abominations during my work for Gringotts in Egypt. They are called horcruxes. The old Egyptian wizards tried to gain immortality by splitting part of their souls from their bodies. As long as the horcrux is safe, the wizard couldn't die. The problem was, once their bodies were destroyed, they didn't find a way to restore their spirits. And as possession was commonly known, the wizards developed amulets against it. So if somebody wanted to kill an immortal wizard, they had to completely destroy the body of the wizard and best also destroy the horcrux. There is only one problem; there are few ways to do it. Oh, now I understand the importance of the sword. Basilisk venom is one of the few ways that work on horcruxes." Bill exclaimed.

„You're right, that's how Riddle survived. And the bastard didn't only make one; he made six to reach a total of seven parts of his soul. Harry said Riddle thought that to be the most powerful magical number." Ginny confirmed.

"And Dumbledore let Harry search for them on his own? Only with Ron and Hermione as his help? I don't believe it, how could he do something so irresponsible?" Molly despaired.

"That is something Harry and I couldn't puzzle out either. Many of Dumbledore's actions make no sense. If he knew Harry had to destroy the horcruxes, hey I can say it now, must be because you all know, why didn't he tell him how to do it? Why didn't he train Harry how to fight Riddle? The prophecy you all protected two years ago says it comes down to Harry and Riddle and Dumbledore was the one to tell Harry what it said just after Sirius died." Ginny informed them looking around seeing that the others shared her confusion.

Remus shook his head. How could Dumbledore have told Harry something so horrible in that situation? Just after he had lost the one person he had loved like the father he never knew.

"Did Harry's plan work out?" Tonks asked easing the tension a bit.

"Yes, it did. He managed to get Bellatrix to get him the cup and about three thousand galleons, he figured it would be nice for the Death Eaters to finance him for a change, then he sent her to Malfoy Manor, the headquarters of the Death Eaters, to kill as many of them as she could. Of course he obliviated the memory of everything from her mind. While he posed as the Reaper, he wanted to be absolutely sure that Riddle didn't find out that Harry was hunting his horcruxes. And Harry would know because whenever Riddle slips up on his occlumency, Harry gets glimpses of what Riddle is doing at that time.

"He is abroad looking for something. It has something to do with Gregorovitch, the wandmaker. Harry had a glimpse of Riddle confronting and killing him about an object Gregorovitch once possessed, but it had been stolen long ago by a young man. Harry thinks he is trying to find out who that young man had been. Whatever he is looking for must be important. First Harry thought he wanted Gregorovitch to make him a new wand to overcome the weakness of the twin cores between Harry's and his wands. But then Riddle killed Gregorovitch, so that doesn't make any sense." Ginny reported.

"That's true. So the rampage Bellatrix went on was no insane act from her, but Harry ordering her to take out as many enemies as possible." Kingsley said. „I'm glad Harry is taking this war serious now and doesn't pull his punches anymore. He managed what few could; he planted fear in the party of the Death Eaters. And he decimated the inner circle. While we don't know who was killed exactly, we know there were some."

"That I can tell you too. Neville and I overheard the Carrows talking at Hogwarts. From the inner circle Bellatrix killed Rodolphus Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Peter Pettigrew, which they think is no big loss, Evan Rosier, Walden McNair, Avery and Rastaban Lestrange, who took her out in their fight. They also lost sixteen new recruits." Ginny reported.

"Great. Those were important members of Riddle's army." Kingsley said. "So what happened on the train, or is there something else that happened before that?"

"One thing. Harry had asked me to get him his old Potions book back, which he hid in the Room of Requirement. He thought it would be a waste of knowledge to let the improved recipes of Snape go to waste. Whatever slimy git the man may be, he is a genius at Potions. And Harry had to realize that knowledge is power, no matter the source. He also allowed the DA to search the castle for the last horcrux as we were already there. I had to promise him we would be careful and look out for any spies, but I managed to convince him that it would be easier that way. Believe me, that was not easy. Harry can be so stubborn." She huffed.

The twins chuckled. That was so typically Harry. They were proud of their little sister for convincing Harry to trust her and the DA with the job.

"Well, we were unsuccessful in finding the horcrux and we combed the castle every opportunity we had, including all the secret passages. Harry even let me borrow the marauders map for the operation. Then just before the holidays started I decided to get the book to give it to Harry and Neville accompanied me to the Room. We looked for one hour for the cupboard Harry said he had hidden the book in. He said it was marked with a bust with a wig and a crown on top. Neville finally found the place. He held the book in one hand when I reached him and pointed grinning at the bust.

"The crown Harry had said was the marker was really the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, the horcrux we had been looking for. We sent both book and horcrux to Harry to take care of them. So the horcruxes are all destroyed now and Riddle is mortal again." Ginny declared beaming.

Cheers followed that announcement.

"Oh those are great news." Molly said happily.

"Harry is the best! And the DA rocks!" The twins shouted.

"So, I guess Harry is now planning for the fight against Riddle?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes, but I've to tell you first what happened on the train. Harry found out by interrogating Bellatrix that the Death Eaters had planned to kidnap Luna to blackmail her dad to stop printing supportive articles about Harry. Well, the junior Death Eaters, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson and Nott came to our compartment and ordered Luna and me to come with them. But they didn't count on Harry having planned for the kidnapping attempt. Harry was on the train in his Reaper disguise and disarmed Malfoy easily. Anubis scared the wannabe Death Eaters immensely and we used the distraction to easily overpower them. We threw them in the compartment next to us, bound, disarmed and silenced.

"Harry then revealed himself to the others and we planned what to do next. Neville had the idea of ambushes for the Death Eaters, using the taboo. Normally it is the Death Eaters who outnumber us, but with Neville's suggestion we could take them out without endangering our side too much. Harry is planning locations and will contact us in the next days. The problem is we need to hide our family now that the Death Eaters have attempted to kidnap me. That means Bill and Fleur need to put their cottage under Fidelius, the Burrow must be hidden and best we do the same with Aunt Muriel's. Fred and George could hide there or here and perhaps run their business as an owl order service while the war is still going on." Ginny suggested.

Arthur nodded solemnly. He had feared it would come the time where they had to go into hiding but at least they had gotten a warning in time before any of the family members were hurt.

"What about Xeno?" Arthur asked.

"Harry said he was already informed and would take Luna with him into hiding. We have also talked about the fact that Luna and I can't return to Hogwarts after the holidays with the kidnapping attempts. They would have an even easier time if the Carrows decided they would take us directly from the school. They don't hesitate to torture students, so why would they not take us from there and bring us directly to their boss?" Ginny asked.

"What do you mean torture?" Molly asked aghast.

"The cruciatus curse. They let the junior Death Eaters practice the spell on those that misbehave. We, the DA, try to protect the younger years, but we have all felt it and Neville has a scar in his face from the punishment he got for asking Alecto Carrow how much muggle blood she had. He was great, he took over the position of our leader after Harry and the others were away. Kreacher got us potions to help us with the after effects. He also got Dobby and Winky to help too. Those three elves are the reason we didn't starve when the Carrows thought food denial would make a good punishment. Of course Slytherin was exempt." Ginny said bitterly.

"Minerva, can't the other teachers do anything to stop that?" Molly pleaded.

"No, sadly not. We can only try to prevent the Carrows finding out about things. We managed to stop them from using the cruciatus on the younger years, but Argus is allowed to dish out his ideas of punishment, which are only slightly better. If we resist, we would leave the students on their own and without reprieve. We try to not give out any detentions as they are in charge of them." Minerva stated sadly.

"Okay, I think there is only one solution. Take down Riddle and the Death Eaters as soon as possible. I like the ambush plan and want in. It's time we act. If everything goes well, we might have liberated our world before my child will be born." Remus said.

"We are in too. Harry did his part, now we have to help him get the Death Eaters out of the way. At the moment it seems Riddle is overseas. So we have only to deal with the remaining inner circle and newbies. We can do that. If everything goes to plan, we can decimate them good." Fred said with George nodding.

"Count me in." Kingsley simply said.

Tonks looked sullen, she wanted to help but knew she couldn't due to her pregnancy.

The other Weasleys nodded their agreement with the plan. As did the Quidditch team. It was time to free their world of Riddle's terror. And they wouldn't stand by and let Harry do everything.

* * *

**And finished. I know most of this was repetition, but it was important to show how the Order got informed about Harry's tale. Next chapter will be about how to realize the ambushes and things like that. Till next weekend.**


	9. Planning

**And here comes the next chapter, just in time to start the weekend. Thanks for all your comments. I can live with some constructive critic. And while I know that I could have shortened the talk, I didn't want to because I wanted to show some of the reactions, which wouldn't have been as easy with simply depending on everybody remembering everything.**

**Now happy reading.**

* * *

**Planning**

Harry stumbled in his hotel room in the small inn he had found near the old harbour of St. Ives. The innkeeper, old Mrs. Hugson, was very nice and had taken to fussing over him. Here, at one of the far most southwest parts of England, Harry hoped to get a bit of peace before he had to start planning the ambushes of the Death Eaters. He hoped Ginny got the Weasleys to safety and that they could put up Fidelius charms in time. Anubis liked the mostly idyllic town. There wasn't much traffic here as the big ships went to Plymouth. Only some fishers from the town had their boats here.

He was hit with another of those visions. Riddle obviously was very happy about something. He saw him looking at a picture of a young man. Harry had seen the man before. It was when Riddle tore through Gregorovitch's memories before he killed him. The thief of whatever Riddle was after. Who was that young man? Riddle seemed to know now. Harry thought it had to do with the wand connection Riddle was trying to overcome after Harry's wand had shot the golden flames at him during the hunt when Harry had been brought to the Burrow before his birthday.

But what kind of wand would be worth all the effort Riddle put into the search? Suddenly the pain lessened and the vision stopped. Harry groaned. He hated getting those insights in Riddle's mind. They hurt like hell. A shame he never had mastered Occlumency, but that was mostly to blame on Snape not teaching him properly and him not wanting to do what his most hated teacher told him or simply not knowing how to do it. Really, how should he know how to clear his mind without any instructions? Harry summoned a pain relieving potion from his backpack and gulped it down. He lay down on the bed to get over the headache. After some minutes he could think again.

He really needed to figure out what Riddle was looking for. He suspected a wand as his didn't work properly against Harry's wand. So what kind of wand would give Riddle more power than his own wand? Ollivander had told him Riddle's wand was very powerful. Harry could believe that considering that the feather that was the core was from Fawkes. Then it hit him. He jumped from the bed and sized his backpack. He got Dumbledore's journal and looked for the part about the duel against Grindelwald. He found it and read.

_12 April 1945_

_I can't believe it, Gellert managed to get the Elder Wand into his hands. Now I fear I can't let him be any longer. With him possessing one of the Hallows and the worst one to be in the hands of a power obsessed man like Gellert, it would mean the downfall of Europe if he wasn't stopped. I just hope my skill advantage is enough to stop him._

_25 April 1945_

_I did it. I won against Gellert. It was a terrible duel and the hardest fight I ever had to win. I couldn't find anything left of the young man I once called my friend. The power obviously has twisted his mind completely. I'm now the owner of the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows. I wish it never had come to it; the power doesn't interest me anymore like it did in my youth. But this wand needs to be kept safe to not fall into the wrong hands. I'll keep it as my own and keep his secret. Nobody will know I've got it. Gellert won't tell anything. I think he will be imprisoned in his own prison, Nurmengard. I think it is poetic justice for him to spend the rest of his life in the very prison he built for his enemies. I need to make sure I'm not tempted by the power people will offer me. I think it would be best to stay at Hogwarts._

That was it. Dumbledore had been the last owner of the Elder Wand. And Riddle wanted to find the wand. Harry knew exactly where it was, in Dumbledore's grave at Hogwarts. But he couldn't get it. But what happened with the wand? Would it work for Riddle if he got it from Dumbledore's grave? After all, somehow the wand Riddle used during the chase didn't work as well for him. Malfoy's wand had been destroyed. He had had the vision about torturing Ollivander. That was it. He could ask Ollivander. But the man was a prisoner, most likely at Malfoy Manor. He still had the portkey he had taken from Bellatrix. He could get there without a problem.

Harry continued his thinking. What about the last Hallow? The stone. Dumbledore had believed the Peverell brothers were the brothers from the story. Where did he hear the name Peverell before the journal? He knew he had heard it. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. He remembered a shabby looking old man, thrusting a ring into the face of a man, showing off the crest on the ring.

"Marvolo Gaunt." He shouted, realizing where he had heard the name, making Anubis looking at him as if he had lost his mind, shouting random names.

Harry ignored the look. He knew he was right. The stone on the ring that had become Riddle's second horcrux after the diary had been the resurrection stone. Where did Dumbledore put it? Then he had it, the snitch. Hermione had said there was a possibility to hide a small object in the snitch because snitches had flesh memories. The words on the snitch 'I open at the close' had to be the code how to get the stone. But he still didn't know what the message meant.

This meant he had the possibility to gain all three Hallows as his cloak was one of them. The stone was in the snitch and the wand was in Dumbledore's grave. But how could he gain the wand? Could the power he knows not, be being the Master of Death?

That night Harry didn't get much sleep. He was thinking about uniting the Hallows to beat Riddle. In the morning he had finally come to the conclusion that it would be impossible for him to get the wand. Even if he managed to get into the Hogwarts grounds undetected, which he didn't think he could, he would never be able to desegregate the grave of Dumbledore. And Dumbledore wanted the wand to be buried with him, so perhaps he wasn't meant to have it. Damn, he wanted to talk to Ginny. He wanted to exchange ideas with her, ask her what she thought of his conclusions. And he wanted to feel her. Smell the sweet scent of her hair, feel her warm lips kissing his, feel her perfect body pressing against his…

Damn, he shouldn't have those thoughts about his girlfriend. But she was gorgeous and he was a healthy teenage male. So dreams about his beautiful girlfriend being in certain positions with him were normal, weren't they? And his fantasies about Ginny were tame compared with what Seamus had told them in their dorm from fourth year on. Groaning Harry got up, thinking a cold shower would probably help both his problems. His tiredness from a more or less sleepless night and his hard member that had reacted forcefully to his fantasies about Ginny.

* * *

Voldemort was there, at the bottom of the infamous prison that was Nurmengard. He used his ability to fly without a broom to reach the barred window of the cell which he needed to get into to question the inmate. He easily got through the bars and saw the old man looking defiantly at him.

"I wondered when you'd come." The old man said. "I thought you would … one day. But your journey was pointless, I never had it."

"You lie." Voldemort replied angrily. "Tell me what you know!"

"If you're so sure, kill me then, Voldemort. I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek … there is so much you don't understand." The old man cackled.

Voldemort showed his fury with usage of the cruciatus curse.

"Kill me then! you'll not win, you cannot win, that wand will never be yours … " The old man said with a toothless grin.

"As you wish. Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted and the green light rushed at the old man.

* * *

Harry was about to apparate to Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur's place; Kreacher had given him a written message from Bill, the secret keeper, so he would be able to find the cottage. He would meet Bill and Fleur there and from there on they would apparate to the next point. This way nobody would be able to find The Order members and their new secret headquarters.

Then he felt Voldemort's anger and saw how he tortured and killed Grindelwald in the top cell in Nurmengard.

"So he knows now. It's only a question of time that he gets the Elder Wand. He can after all enter Hogwarts without problem." Harry mumbled.

Anubis whined a bit and Harry smiled at his puppy.

"Don't worry, Anubis. Just things getting direr. We'll discuss the new development at headquarters." Harry assured his familiar and disapparated them from St. Ives under his invisibility cloak.

He reappeared near the shore. He had concentrated at the message he had got: Bill and Fleur Weasley live at Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth.

He checked the surroundings for any possible enemies and was glad to come up negative. Harry let Anubis down and took off his cloak. His normal disguise should be enough. So he and Anubis walked towards the small cottage Harry could see a little distance away. Harry had his wand in his self-made wandholster on his right wrist, ready in case something came up. He got to the cottage without problem and knocked at the door.

"Who is there?" He heard Bill's voice.

"Harry." He answered, drawing his wand.

Bill opened the door and held his wand at Harry's face, checking him and Anubis.

"What disguise did you use at my wedding?" Bill asked.

"I pretended to be your cousin Barny." Harry answered evenly.

"When did you first see Fleur?" Harry asked his own question.

"When Mum and I visited you at Hogwarts before the third task of the Triwizard Tournament started." Bill answered, lowering his wand and starting to smile.

"Come in, Harry, it is so good to see you again." Bill greeted clapping a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Same to you." Harry replied and followed Bill into the house.

He saw Fleur coming out of the kitchen with a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Harry, eet eez so good to see you again." She greeted him smiling. "I 'ave to compliment you on your disguise. Eet eez very good."

"Thank you, Fleur. It has served me well so far. It is good to see you too. How have you been? I've been out of contact for so long I don't know much what has been going on."

"We have been well, Harry." Bill answered. "While we were under watch of the Death Eaters and the Ministry, nothing really bad happened."

"That's good to know." Harry said relieved.

Harry gratefully took the glass of pumpkin juice from Fleur and drank happily.

"Ah, I missed this stuff. You don't get pumpkin juice easily in the muggle world." Harry commented.

"So you have been hiding in the muggle world?" Bill asked interested.

"Mostly. After we lost our hiding place at Grimmauld Place, Ron, Hermione and I went camping around the countryside." Harry said, a bit glumly.

The other two knew the reason. It was understandable after what Harry had gone through.

"Ginny told us the story as far as she knows it already. Nobody is happy with Ron and Hermione, but it was a big misunderstanding. They were attacked by Snatchers and decided to treat their injuries before coming back. They obviously returned the next afternoon after buying some more supplies for you. We already told them they could have at least sent you a patronus message to inform you they would come back. But the past is the past, nobody can change it." Bill explained.

"So they didn't want to abandon me? They could have made a bit more of an effort." Harry said angrily.

His pain was obvious to Bill and Fleur.

"We know and zey know it too. Zey should have realized zat zey 'ad your supplies. And zat you wouldn't 'ave a choice but to leave. We got zem out of England because ze Ministry would 'ave found zem sooner or later if zey were with one of us." Fleur said.

Harry nodded, relieved that he wouldn't have to face his two supposed best friends so soon. It still hurt terribly, perhaps even more so because they didn't mean to leave him alone. At least he was relatively sure about Hermione. Ron could be a jealous and insensible git. He wouldn't simply forget this. They would definitely get a piece of his mind once he saw them again.

"So where did you hide?" Bill asked.

"I started with my Aunt and Uncle's house. I didn't know anywhere else where I had at least some chance of getting a few things. I had left the cast-offs of Dudley, which I used to wear, there. I don't like them, but at least they were dry clothes I could use. I knew that the Dursleys stored a lot of non-perishable food in the basement, so I had something I could cook. When I fell sick with a cold, I called Kreacher to me. He informed me that he could get me money from my vault as my house elf and potions to heal my cold. That elf really was my savour. I asked him for information other children learned while growing up. I had realized that with the new regime I'd need to be able to really blend in to survive." Harry admitted.

Bill and Fleur nodded.

"Yeah, Ginny might have torn McGonagall another one for neglecting to inform you about the specifics of living in the wizarding world when the muggleborn students all got informational meetings." Bill said grinning.

Harry had to smile at that. That sounded like his girlfriend.

"After I left Little Whinging, I went to London to get some things at Fred and George's and to test my disguise. I thought if I managed to deceive the twins, other people wouldn't have a chance to recognize me."

"Good zinking, 'arry." Fleur agreed.

"From there I went to Godric's Hollow where I visited my parent's graves and found Anubis." Harry hesitated.

"Harry, Ginny already told us about you taking action against the Death Eaters as the Reaper. We don't hate you, you did the right thing. We're at war and as sad as it is, people die in wars. And I like it better the Death Eaters are the ones dying than innocents." Bill calmly told Harry.

Harry breathed out relieved. He had been afraid how others would take his actions.

"Thank you, Bill; I really needed to hear that. Ginny told me that I wasn't a … a murderer but it is good to hear somebody else … support that opinion. From there on I stayed in different muggle hotels, small pensions and inns. I was in Nottingham, I thought the idea of staying in the city where the resistance against Price John was centred amusing, I stayed in Montgomery, Norton, Dufftown and last in St. Ives. I prefer small villages over big towns. Less likeliness to be found. I stay at one town for a week at most. So far I had no problems with Death Eaters finding me." Harry explained.

"That's a sound strategy if you're on the run. How did you manage to interfere with the Death Eater raids?" Bill asked.

"I knew where they were planned. I got all of the Death Eater's plans from Bellatrix and for one raid, I heard about it at the muggle news and apparated there. I managed to help in time." Harry answered.

Bill and Fleur nodded.

"Okay, are you ready to head to headquarters?" Bill asked.

"Yes, where are the new headquarters?" Harry asked.

"Aunt Muriel's." Bill said, handing Harry a new slip of parchment.

The headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix is at Prewett Manor, Devon

Harry memorized the address and burned the slip of parchment.

"Alright, let's get out of the Fidelius here to apparate." Bill said, taking his cloak from the hanger near the entrance door.

Fleur also took her cloak and both led Harry outside to the point the normally used for apparition. The three turned on the spot and disapparated to headquarters.

* * *

When they arrived, they were greeted with three wands pointed at them. The owners of the wands were Oliver Wood, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"What did I do after our first Quidditch match in my final year at Hogwarts?" Oliver asked Harry.

"Trying to drown yourself in the shower because we lost the match." Harry answered.

"We had already checked if he was an impostor Oliver but now we're doubly sure." Bill said.

"And I've made sure when I was at Bill and Fleur's that they are the real ones." Harry declared, which had everybody lower their wands.

Remus stepped up to Harry and drew him into a fierce embrace.

"It's so good to see you again. Especially doing well. Come in, the others are already waiting and I think if we don't let Ginny see you soon, she might attack somebody with her bat-bogey hex." Remus chuckled.

Harry's eyes lit up at the mention of Ginny and he overtook the others at entering the manor. Said action let to the five still outside laughing. Harry really loved Ginny. Their thoughts were proven when they saw the last moments of Ginny running towards Harry in the entrance hall and jumping into his arms. Harry laughed and spun her around, followed by a deep kiss.

The other members of the Order of the Phoenix stood nearby smiling at the happiness the couple radiated. Most of them had rarely seen Harry showing happiness this openly. They had thought he showed it before, but they had only seen this kind of smile once or twice and never in the past three years. Especially Fred and George swore silently to do everything to protect Harry and Ginny's relationship.

Molly looked at the two with a smile. She had watched her only daughter crush on The-Boy-Who-Lived when she was a child and it had gotten worse once Harry had rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets. She knew that Ginny first had had to acknowledge that while Harry was the The-Boy-Who-Lived, he was different from her imagination of him. While Ginny hadn't told her that she was going out with Harry last year, she could easily tell that those two were meant to be together. Their eyes sparkled when they looked at each other and she could think of nothing better than seeing her daughter and the young man who was like a son to her, being happy together.

"Come on everybody, we need to plan and discuss how we can stop this terrible war once and for all." She finally called them into the dining room where a long table offered space for all of them.

Harry held Ginny close to him with his left arm and followed the others to the meeting room.

Harry was greeted with a lot of cheering and he was glad to be back under people who cared for him. The quest for the horcruxes had really been lonely. Anubis barked and ran around the people, begging for stroking and scratching behind the ears. Especially the girls were taken with the Grim puppy. Finally they settled down and could start planning.

"First thing, we're all really happy to have you back with us, Harry, after you successfully completed your mission." Arthur said.

"Thanks, it's great to finally be able to be back again. The quest was not fun." Harry told them.

"Yes, Ginny told us all she knew about it already, perhaps you could add to it sometime later. For now I think we need to plan some ambushes for the Death Eaters."

„You're right. Well, Neville came up with the idea on the train back to London." Harry credited his friend, who blushed at the praise.

Both Longbottoms were present to support the Order with the ambushes that were to be planned. This needed to work out perfectly to prepare for the final battle against Voldemort.

"Why don't you explain your idea, Neville?" Harry asked.

"Me? Okay. You all know about the taboo Riddle had the Ministry place on his name. That way he can immediately find anybody who uses his name and take them out. Normally the Death Eaters or snatchers attack in superior numbers. My idea is to prepare some places where we can simultaneously or with little timely difference take out a good number of Riddle's supporters. The places should be outside of normal settings so we can avoid innocents being hurt. From Harry's story how he, Ron and Hermione camped all over the country, I thought we could use that disguise for the trap. We place tents in the place we want to do the ambush and one says the name and plays decoy. Others hide close to the tent and surprise the Death Eaters or snatcher with a blitz attack." Neville explained.

"Yes, that is a good plan. But where would we set the sites up and who would be suited to take them out? The ambushes need to be done quickly as Neville said and we can't afford to let any of them escape or they will warn the others and the strategy is useless." Kingsley said. "Additionally we can only use it a few times until they realize what we are doing."

"I know a few places outside of settings where we can do the ambushes. I've moved around the country for months and most of the time camping. I also consulted some muggle tourist offices for lonely places. Told them I wanted to set up my tent in parts of the country where I could live in balance with nature for my next summer holidays." Harry said.

While everybody thought about the best places to set up ambushes a small part of Ginny's mind pondered if, when they had won the war, Harry would go camping at one of those places with her. She quickly shoved the thought into the back of her mind. Now was not the time to make plans for holidays.

* * *

After two hours of solid planning they had put together four ambush teams. Team one were Harry and Anubis, who would scare the living daylights out of the Death Eaters, Kingsley, Seamus, Fred, George and Padma. Team two were Arthur, Bill, Neville, Lavender, Remus and Angelina. Team three were Charlie, Andromeda, Fleur, Oliver, Alicia and Filius. The last team consisted of Augusta, her brother Algernon Croaker, Parvati, Katie, Lee and Minerva. Those underage were left behind with Muriel and Molly to prepare first aid in case it would be needed.

"Okay, now that we have the plans finished, there is something else I want to tell you. I think I've figured out what Riddle is looking for on the continent and I also know where it is hidden." Harry said.

"Really? What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry smiled at her and subconsciously took her hand into his. Ginny blushed a bit at the touch.

"I told you about my dreams that he was looking for Gregorovitch, the wandmaker. I first thought that he wanted Gregorovitch tell him something about the twin cores in our wands and how to overcome them. Then I thought he wanted Gregorovitch to make him a special wand to overpower mine, but now I'm nearly completely sure that he is looking for a special old wand."

The others looked questioningly at him.

"Do you know the tale of the Deathly Hallows?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but I'm surprised you know it as well." Andromeda said. Then it clicked. "You don't want to tell me he is after the Elder Wand from the tale of the three brothers?" She asked.

Harry just nodded.

"I found out about the Hallows through Professor Dumbledore's journal. In his youth he and Gellert Grindelwald tried to find them. They got in a row and during the fight that followed, Ariana Dumbledore was killed. That was the shock that made Dumbledore rethink his ideas about wizarding supremacy."

"I always knew the Dumbledore's tried to hide their squib daughter." Muriel cackled gleefully.

"She was no squib; she was a witch and a powerful one at that. All those lies Skeeter wrote in her book are based on some small nuggets of truth which she blew out of proportion in a way that would make sense for most people. When Ariana Dumbledore was six years old and playing in the garden of her parents' house, some muggle children saw her doing magic and wanted to make her repeat her feat. She couldn't do it and they were really cruel to her. From there on Ariana feared using her magic and that was the reason her father attacked the boys. For destroying his daughter's life.

"Ariana couldn't control her magic, but the family didn't want her to be locked up in St. Mungo's like a dangerous animal. They wanted her to live at home. They moved after Professor Dumbledore's father was imprisoned and his mother took care of Ariana at home, living very secluded to not antagonize the girl."

The others were stunned at that revelation.

"If it had been your daughter who was in that situation, wouldn't you have done all you could to protect her? The death of her mother was an accident due to an uncontrolled outbreak of magic." Harry asked.

Muriel scoffed at that but kept quiet.

"Okay, Harry, that is interesting and all, but what does that have to do with the whereabouts of the Elder Wand?" Remus asked, trying to bring them back to the topic.

"While Dumbledore stopped looking for the Hallows, mourning his sister, Grindelwald didn't. Originally the Elder Wand has been in the possession of Gregorovitch. I'd guess he wanted to copy the wand's abilities or something like that. But Grindelwald stole the wand from him when he was a young man. While I can't compare the picture of the young man in the vision I had from Voldemort using Legilimency on Gregorovitch with any pictures of the young Grindelwald, I know what Nurmengard looks like. And I know who is imprisoned in the highest cell there and that is where Riddle went. Probably he knows now where the wand is or will figure it out soon. Grindelwald denied him the knowledge and was killed. I saw it just before I apparated to Bill and Fleur's." Harry reported.

"How do you know so much about History all out of a sudden?" Fred wanted to know.

"From the pensieve lessons I had with Dumbledore last year, I realized that history could help me with my quest, so when I was exhausted with learning Transfiguration and Charms at the Dursleys' house while I was recovering, I looked up the history during the time of Grindelwald and Riddle's rising. I wanted to compare both dark lords and there I found the picture of Nurmengard." Harry explained.

"Is this the young man?" Muriel asked, holding out a book to Harry.

He recognized it as Rita Skeeter's book about Dumbledore. He looked at the two teenagers in the picture and one was the man from his vision.

"The left one is the one from the vision." He confirmed.

"So you were right. Good to have it confirmed." Muriel said.

Under the picture were the words, Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore at Godric's Hollow.

"So Grindelwald had the wand, but where is it now?" Tonks asked.

"It is at Hogwarts in Dumbledore's grave." Harry said, shocking the others.

"Dumbledore had the Elder Wand?" Andromeda asked impressed.

"Yes, but there is something I need to find out before I confront Riddle. And for that I need Ollivander. I know he is being held captive at Malfoy Manor, which is used as headquarters for the Death Eaters." Harry told them.

"And how the hell do you intend to break in there?" Bill asked incredulous.

"By using Bellatrix' portkey. I took it from her when I interrogated her. The portkey will bring me into the manor and it should be possible to free any prisoners, especially Ollivander while they are distracted with something else, for example the last ambush." Harry simply stated.

„You're not going in there alone." Remus stated authoritarian.

"I didn't plan to. I'll take Anubis with me and pose as the Reaper." Harry explained.

"That is still not enough, Harry." Remus growled.

"But if any of you appear there, they will know something is fishy." Harry protested.

"I'll go with you." Kingsley said. „I'm the most experienced with concealing my presence from my auror training and our ambush is the first one to happen. So I'd be the best choice to take with you for back up. And if there are some Death Eaters remaining at the manor despite the distraction from the ambushes, I can help you taking them out better than any of the others as I've been trained for situations like that."

Harry had to admit Kingsley was right. He really needed to get out of the habit to want to do everything himself.

"It's okay, Harry. I know it is hard to overcome your honed instincts." Kingsley said knowingly.

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry when he nodded while looking down. Harry relished in the feeling of her embrace. She always managed to make him feel better and just knew when he needed more contact.

* * *

Harry and Ginny lay on Ginny's bed at the Burrow on Christmas Eve. Harry had agreed to stay there for a few days until the ambushes were going to happen. He wanted to be close to Ginny and this would be the last real opportunity to do so. They had planned the 30th December as the best date to act. Most Death Eaters wouldn't expect an attack just after Christmas and a day before New Year's Eve. And Harry had no argument against it as the Burrow was under Fidelius now.

„I'm so happy to have you here, Harry." Ginny said while playing with Harry's brown locks.

„I'm happy too. I love you, Ginny, and I missed you terribly. I wish you could have been with me, but with you still having the trace on you it wouldn't have been possible. They would have found you too easily." He said just holding her and hungrily looking into her eyes.

Ginny placed a soft kiss on Harry's nose.

"I love you too, my stupid, noble git." She said.

"We already established I was wrong to try to stay away from you. It didn't help any of us. But I've learned from my mistake and I'll never let you go again."

"You better not or you'll feel why it is crazy to make me mad."

Harry laughed.

"Oh, I don't doubt it; after all, even the infamous twins fear the wrath of Ginny Weasley." He teased.

"And with good reason." She proudly stated.

"Yes." He said and kissed her.

They both started a passionate making out session. Ginny began pushing her hands under his shirt which made him stop suddenly.

"Ginny, what?" He asked.

"Shh, Harry." Ginny said, putting a finger on his lips and looking in his eyes. "Just relax."

"But, what if your parents come in?"

"They won't. And you can always put up locking charms and a silencing charm. I've waited so long; I don't want to wait any longer. I want you completely, Harry Potter." She purred.

"Are you really sure, I don't want to push you into something you're nor ready for." He asked.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. I love you, Harry, and I know I want to do this."

Harry saw the confirmation that she really wanted this in her eyes. He took his wand from the nightstand and put a strong locking charm on the door, a notice-me-not charm and a muffliato. They shouldn't be disturbed by anybody now. Then he put his wand back and began to enjoy the ministrations of his girlfriend who started kissing down his neck.

* * *

**And cut. The plot is getting thicker and certain people are living their life more now. ;) Till next weekend.**


	10. Ambushes

**Hello, perfectly in time for the weekend I present the next chapter to you. Thanks for all the comments left for the story. It's really motivating to get so many in just one week. Now I hope you will like this chapter too. Happy reading.**

* * *

**Ambushes**

Four sites had been prepared, looking very similar to each other. They only had two magical tents, but with some duplicating charms, they had usable tents that would at least hold for one day, which was all they needed. The decoys for the four sites were Harry with Anubis at site one, Neville at site two, Alicia for site three and Parvati for site four. Alicia and Parvati were chosen for their quick apparition abilities and the other two for their raw power. They would start their plan with delays of ten minutes between the ambushes. Teams one and two would start followed by teams three and four.

Remus had pointed out that it would be best to have the Death Eaters split up from the beginning. So it made sense to use the taboo in two places simultaneously. Harry's group laid waiting in the bushes around the campsite. Harry sat on a log in his reaper disguise, Anubis on the ground next to him. Both were ready for the agreed time to come. Harry kept looking on his watch. Finally it was one minute until action. Thirty seconds, ten seconds, five, four, three, two, one, zero.

"Voldemort." Harry lazily said.

He only had to wait for a few seconds until he heard popping noises around him and noticed that many of his wannabe capturers were just out of Hogwarts. But there was one man he really wanted to see dead.

„I'm disappointed. That is the best Voldemort sends against me?" Harry mocked with a deep voice that he had practiced for his reaper disguise.

The younger Death Eaters shook in fear, as did the six snatchers that were with them. Every single one had heard about the Reaper.

"Don't think I fear you, Reaper." Fenrir Greyback snarled.

The werewolf was probably the only one to be really dangerous of this group.

"Your time is up, Greyback. You'll be judged for the sins you committed. Your punishment is death." Harry said monotonously.

"We will see." Greyback said and jumped into action.

The others tried to take out Anubis, but the Grim danced around their shaky spells. Then the spells from the others rained down on the group and soon only Greyback remained a danger, having dodged the spell-fire.

"It was all a set-up." The werewolf snarled angrily.

"You realized that just now? I thought it was obvious as soon as you saw I was your opponent. I'll bring death to your false Lord. And you'll be waiting for him, joining the other Death Eaters I sent to hell already." Harry swung his sword and managed to cut Greyback's cheek.

"We will see if werewolves really can only be killed by silver." Harry commented nonchalantly, keeping up his fight with spells and the sword. Now all his physical training came in very useful.

„I'm too strong for any kind of snake poison." Greyback boasted.

Then he began tumbling.

"How can it be? I should be immune." He rasped.

"It seems that the venom of a basilisk is something you're not immune against. Or it could be that the goblins use silver in their blades. It doesn't matter to me. You'll die for the crimes you committed. For all the children you turned and cursed for life. For all the lives you destroyed. Go to hell, Greyback." Harry said and the most feared werewolf of Europe died a painful death at the hands of the Reaper.

"Any injuries on our side?" Harry asked the others that secured the alive Death Eaters and Snatchers.

"A small cut on my arm, nothing bad, Harry." Padma reported.

The others reported negatively.

"Good, how many of the bastards are dead?" Harry asked.

"Seven. Three Death Eaters, three snatchers and Greyback." Kingsley said. "The other five are massively injured. Not sure if they will make it."

"Okay, dose them with the draught of living death and store them in the basement of Grimmauld Place for now. Kreacher and Dobby will dose them constantly together with the ones the others may capture. Good work here. Kingsley, let's head to Malfoy Manor." Harry said.

The auror nodded, disillusioned himself, and took hold of Harry's portkey. Harry had Anubis touch it with his paw and then spoke the activation phrase. They vanished on the spot.

"Well, time to clean up." George announced mock cheerfully.

* * *

Harry and Kingsley landed in a small room inside of Malfoy Manor.

"Obviously they give the portkeys only to trusted Death Eaters. We're inside the wards." Kingsley whispered.

"Yes, I knew that. Bellatrix said as much during her interrogation. We'll have to call one of the house elves to get out though, but I don't think that will be a problem. Winky, Dobby and Kreacher are awaiting my call. Nobody will miss Dobby or Winky at Hogwarts during the Christmas break." Harry whispered back.

"Good, we'll proceed as planned. I'll get Ollivander from the basement; you scare them to death and take out as many as you can, preferably silently as long as you can." Kingsley said.

Harry nodded solemnly. He hated assassinations. And this was nothing else. He and Kingsley left the room and took off to their missions. Harry had a basic understanding of the layout of Malfoy Manor from Bellatrix. So he went to find the rooms where he assumed most Death Eaters that would remain at the manor would be.

He soon heard voices speaking with each other.

"I tell you something is fishy with the taboo alarms." He heard a woman talking.

"And I say you're paranoid, Narcissa." A male voice said.

"But four alarms within ten minutes. That isn't normal, Stephen." Narcissa replied.

"We just have luck that a lot of people dare using our lord's name, probably cursing him for his strength. We may be able to round up some of the last powerful members of The Order of the Phoenix. If we're lucky even Potter. Can you imagine how we'll be rewarded by the Dark Lord if we get Potter?" Stephen said.

"And what if they are ambushes? The Order could have found out about the taboo by now. We shouldn't have sent so many Death Eaters to them. Perhaps a scouting team and they could have called for back-up if it were no ambushes. What do you think will happen if the Dark Lord comes back from his journey and finds more of his Death Eaters dead?" Narcissa argued.

Harry silently cast a muffliato over the room.

"Those that manage to survive, will soon find out, Mrs Malfoy." Harry spoke up, opening the door; Anubis jumped into action and downed the Death Eater called Stephen.

Harry didn't recognize him.

"The Reaper." Narcissa said tonelessly.

"In the flesh." Harry said before he disarmed Narcissa and stunned her. "You're lucky I need a messenger. You'll live and tell Riddle what happened here."

He shot a cutting curse at the Death Eater, killing him. Then he proceeded to plant the memory and message he wanted Voldemort to receive into Narcissa's mind. When he had finished, he tied her up and levitated her to the ceiling where he fixated her with a sticking charm. Content with his work he left the room and went on to do the dreaded job he had. Twelve Death Eaters fell by his sword and wand before he met up with Kingsley again.

Kingsley was accompanied not only by Ollivander, but Dean Thomas, Ted Tonks and the goblin Griphook. The last three didn't look well, but they were able to move on their own power.

"I found a few more guests of the Death Eaters that I didn't want to leave behind." Kingsley explained.

"No problem. We can get them all out of here in one go. I got all of the Death Eaters and only left Narcissa Malfoy alive as the messenger for Riddle. I don't think she will have a good time when he finds out what we did." Harry said.

"Good work. I know how hard this is on you." Kingsley said softly.

"I'll have to deal with it later. Now we need to get away in case any others come here. Kreacher, Dobby, Winky." He called out.

Three pops later the three house elves stood next to them.

"Yous managed to free wand maker and others." Dobby happily said.

"Yes, we need to get out of here back to headquarters. Please take two of us each and let's get out of here. The mission was a success." Harry said.

Anubis shrunk back to his puppy form and was held by Harry. Dobby took Kingsley and Ollivander, Winky took Dean and Ted and Kreacher took Harry, Anubis and Griphook. They reappeared at the front lawn of Prewett Manor, where Ginny didn't wait to intercept Harry by jumping into his arms.

„I'm okay, Ginny. I don't even have a scratch on me." Harry said sincerely.

"You better not, Harry. I was sick with worry for you." She complained.

„I'm sorry, Ginny. But everything worked out perfectly. We got twelve of them at the manor and twelve during the ambush, seven of them will never be a danger again. Five are at our prison location." Harry informed her, not willing to give away the location where they kept their prisoners.

"Harry?" Dean asked surprised.

Harry took off his hood of his black cloak and followed with his invisibility cloak.

"Hi, Dean. How are you?" He asked.

„You're the Reaper?" Ted asked.

"Yep, it does make a good disguise and distraction against the Death Eaters." Harry replied.

„I'm glad you're all still alive. I was worried about you. And Andromeda is not better. You should head inside and wait for her to return from her mission. You'll be told about it once we have everybody back here." Ginny informed them.

"Thanks Ginny." Ted said, going inside.

Harry shed the rest of his disguise now only wearing jeans with boots over them, a black jumper and his shield scarf in red and gold.

"Let's get you inside. It's too cold out here to wait for the others." Ginny told him.

It was true; it had snowed the night before and except for a path that had been freed of snow for them to walk the whole garden was covered in a white blanket. Harry followed Ginny inside and met up with the rest of his team and team two, which was also already back.

"Hey, Harry." Neville greeted him.

"Good to see you all back, how did your ambush go, Neville?" Harry asked, sitting down in an armchair, Ginny taking the place on his lap.

"It worked perfectly. It was over in a minute. We didn't waste any time to take them out." Remus answered.

Seamus and Dean were happily celebrating their reunion. Molly was handing Ollivander a cup of tea and promised something to eat for all of them soon. She was glad that no really bad injuries had happened. It seemed like the ambushes were working without a problem.

They waited for another ten minutes when teams three and four arrived.

"Mum!" Charlie called out. "We need you over here, Alicia is injured."

Molly immediately went over to her second oldest, who was helping Alicia to keep on her legs.

"Lie her down on the couch, Charlie. What happened?" Molly asked.

"She didn't get away fast enough and was hit with many stunners and a cutting curse to her thigh. Obviously the Death Eaters and the snatchers were wary that it could have been an ambush. We took them all out, no survivors on their part." Charlie reported.

Molly took out a bottle of dittany essence and let some of it fall on Alicia's cuts.

"Accio blood replenisher." Molly summoned the blood replenishing potion to her and opened Alicia's mouth to have her drink it.

"She will be okay. The wound is healed and the potion will help her replace the blood she lost. She will have to take another one in an hour or so and then we'll see if it is enough. But her life isn't in danger. Thankfully it wasn't dark magic." Molly informed the others.

"Good to know, Molly." Andromeda said. "I didn't think the fight would be that intense from the beginning."

Then she looked at the others that were there.

"Ted!" She shouted happily and ran into her husband's arms. "I missed you, Ted. I'm so glad you're alive."

"As am I, Dromeda. If Harry and Kingsley didn't get me and the others out of Malfoy Manor though, I doubt that would have been like that for much longer. Narcissa looked downright pissed when she recognized me. I'm sure if Bellatrix had been there, I'd already be dead. They caught our group yesterday and Dirk Cresswell and Gornuk were killed in the fight."

"Bellatrix is dead; she died a few weeks ago in a fight with Rastaban." Andromeda informed him.

"Why would they fight against each other?" Ted asked confused.

"That would be my fault." Harry admitted. "I caught Bellatrix on the first of the month and interrogated her under veritaserum. Then I had her get me an object Riddle had her keep safe in her vault together with a bit of money and then sent her back to Malfoy Manor, their headquarters. She had orders to kill as many of them as she could. She killed seven from the inner circle and sixteen recruits."

"Good riddance." Ted commented. "It was time we stopped treating them nicely. The more of them are dead, the better."

"How about we report the results of the ambushes over tea and cake and then you can all go and clean up." Molly suggested.

They all agreed to that procedure.

* * *

Three hours later Harry asked Ollivander for some information. He only had Ginny at his side, the others were resting. Many had gone home after the debriefing, agreeing on meeting again tomorrow morning. There just wasn't enough space in the house for all of them. Now only Ted, Andromeda, Remus, Tonks and the Weasleys were here. Dean had gone with Seamus. Ireland was fairly safe as it had its own government.

"Of course, I'll help as much as I can." The wandmaker assured. "What do you want to know?"

"Riddle took you prisoner because he needed answers about the priori incantatem effect of our wands, right?" Harry started.

"Yes, he was immensely disturbed by the fact that your wand overpowered his. I told him about the twin cores, he forced me to tell him all I knew about your wand." Ollivander said, shaking.

"I don't blame you, I know how he works. Can you identify these wands?" Harry asked and took out the wands he had collected at Malfoy Manor from those he had killed, Narcissa and the wands he still had after disarming Draco, and Crabbe and Goyle senior on the train.

"Yes, of course. This one here, oak and unicorn hair, eleven and a half inches, flexible, this wand was bought from me by Narcissa Malfoy." He said, taking up the next wand.

"Hm, Hawthorn and unicorn hair, ten inches precisely. Reasonably springy. This was the wand of Draco Malfoy."

"Was?" Repeated Harry. "Isn't it still his?"

"Perhaps not, there is a feeling of change in the wand. If you took it…"

"I did." Harry confirmed.

"Then it may be yours now. Of course, the manner of taking matters, much depends upon the wand itself. In general, however, where a wand has been won, its allegiance will change."

There was silence in the room. Harry and Ginny thinking about the new information.

"You talk about wands like they've got feelings." Harry said. "Like they can think for themselves."

"The wand chooses the wizard." Ollivander said. "That much has always been clear to those of us who have studied wandlore."

"A person can still use a wand that hasn't chosen them, though?" Harry asked.

Ginny was wondering where this was leading them.

"Oh yes, if you're any wizard at all you'll be able to channel your magic through almost any instrument. The best results however, must always come where there is the strongest affinity between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard and the wizard from the wand."

"I took this wand from Draco Malfoy by disarming him in a fight. Can I use it safely?" Harry asked.

"I think so, subtle laws govern wand ownership, but the conquered wand will usually bend its will to its new master." Ollivander confirmed.

Harry smiled, this was very good and he now had an idea what was to come. Ginny decided she would grill him for details later.

"The change in allegiance of a wand if its previous owner was defeated, does it hold true for all wands?" Harry asked.

"I think so." Ollivander replied, his eyes on Harry's face. "You ask deep questions, Mr Potter. Wandlore is a complex and mysterious branch of magic."

"So it isn't necessary to kill the previous owner to take true possession of a wand?" Harry asked.

Ollivander swallowed.

"Necessary? No, I should not say that it is necessary to kill."

"There are legends, though." Harry continued.

He needed to be sure that his understanding of this part was correct. Much depended on it.

"Legends about a wand – or wands – that have passed from hand to hand by murder."

Ollivander turned pale. Against the snowy pillows he was resting upon, he was light grey, and his eyes were enormous, bloodshot and bulging with what looked like fear.

"Only one wand, I think." He whispered.

"And Riddle is interested in it, isn't he?" Harry asked.

"I – how?" Ollivander croaked, and he looked appealingly at Ginny for help, who didn't know what Harry was trying to find out. "How do you know this?"

"When he asked about the twin cores and how to overcome the connection, you told him he needed to use another wand. But it didn't work. Mine still beat the borrowed wand. Do you know why that is?"

"I had never heard about such a thing happening. Your wand performed something unique that night. The connection of the twin cores is incredibly rare, yet why your wand should have snapped the borrowed wand, I do not know."

"We were talking about the other wand, the wand that changes hands by murder. When Riddle realized my wand had done something strange, he came back and asked about that other wand, didn't he?"

"How do you know this?"

Harry didn't answer.

"Yes, he asked." Ollivander whispered. "He wanted to know everything I could tell him about the wand variously known as the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny or the Elder Wand."

Ginny gasped. Now she knew what Harry wanted. He wanted to know more about the Elder Wand, one of the Hallows and which Voldemort would soon take for himself. But she kept quiet.

"The Dark Lord has always been happy with the wand I made him – yew and phoenix feather, thirteen and a half inches – until he discovered the connection of the twin cores. Now he seeks another, more powerful, wand, as the only way to conquer yours."

Ginny looked at Harry worried for his safety. If Voldemort found the Elder Wand, Harry would be his first target.

"The Dark Lord no longer seeks the Elder Wand only for your destruction, Mr Potter. He is determined to possess it, because he believes it will make him truly invulnerable." Ollivander informed them.

"And, will it?" Ginny asked.

"The owner of the Elder Wand must always fear attack." Ollivander said. "But the idea of the Dark Lord in the possession of the Deathstick is, I must admit … formidable."

Harry was suddenly reminded of how he had been unsure, when they first met, how much he liked Ollivander.

"So the Deathstick really exists." Ginny said pondering.

"Oh yes, it is perfectly possible to trace the wand's course through history. There are gaps, of course, and long ones, where it vanishes from view, temporarily lost or hidden, but always it resurfaces. It has certain identifying characteristics that those who are learned in wandlore recognize. There are written accounts, some of them obscure, that I and other wandmakers have made it our business to study. They have the ring of authenticity. I don't know if it really needs to be passed by murder, that could just be because it is such a desirable object."

Harry realized where Voldemort got the knowledge that the wand could be in the possession of Gregorovitch.

"You told Riddle that Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand, didn't you, Mr Ollivander?" Harry asked.

Ollivander turned, if that was even possible, even paler. He looked ghostly as he gulped.

"But how – how do you -?"

"Never mind how I know it." Harry said. He just hoped Voldemort wouldn't start looking for the wand immediately. He didn't need the distraction of seeing him getting the Elder Wand now.

"You told him Gregorovitch had the wand?"

"It was a rumour." Ollivander whispered. "A rumour years and years ago, long before you were born. I believe Gregorovitch himself started it. You can see how good it would be for business that he was studying and duplicating the qualities of the Elder Wand!"

"Yes, I can see that." Harry said and stood up. "Mr Ollivander, one last thing, then we'll let you rest. What do you know about the Deathly Hallows?"

"The – the what?" The wandmaker asked, looking utterly bewildered.

"The Deathly Hallows." Harry repeated.

"I'm afraid; I don't know what you're talking about. Is this still something to do with wands?"

Harry looked into the sunken face and believed that Ollivander was not acting. He really didn't know what the Hallows were.

"Thank you." Harry said. "Thank you very much; we'll leave you to get some rest now."

"He was torturing me, the cruciatus curse, … , you don't know." He gasped.

"I do know, believe me. Please get some rest." He said and left the room with Ginny following him.

"What?" Ginny started asking, but Harry put a finger on her lips.

"Not here, Ginny. We'll apparate over to the Burrow and talk there." Harry said.

Ginny nodded and they walked outside. Harry let Ginny hold his arm and apparated them away.

* * *

They returned to the Burrow and Ginny pulled Harry after her, confusing her mother that they were already back.

"Harry, Ginny, I didn't expect you so soon." Molly said. "I was just about to apparate back to Aunt Muriel to help with those who are staying there."

"That's no problem, Mum. Harry and I just need to talk in private and with the others staying over at Aunt Muriel's it was easier to come here." Ginny explained and continued pulling Harry after her.

Once they were in Ginny's room, Harry secured the room with a locking charm and a muffliato.

"Harry, what did you want to find out with those questions to Ollivander?" Ginny asked.

"I thought that was obvious for you." Harry answered. "I needed to find out if Riddle would be able to use the Elder Wand to its full capacity. And I think he won't."

"Please explain. I understand some of the things, I suspect you asked if the Elder Wand needed to be passed by murder because Snape killed Dumbledore and not Riddle. You wanted to know if Snape was the new master of the Elder Wand." Ginny stated her suspicions.

„You're right, Ginny. That was the first thing I needed to find out. With the wand not being passed by murder necessarily, we have a unique situation at our hands, because Dumbledore wasn't defeated by Snape." Harry said grimly.

Ginny looked at him confused.

"But Snape killed Dumbledore. I think that counts as defeated." She said.

"Normally it would, but Snape killed Dumbledore after he had been disarmed. I was there on the Astronomy Tower. I've witnessed what happened. When we arrived from the trip to find the horcrux in the cave, Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore. Snape only came later after the Death Eaters had already reached the Tower. If we had had more time, Dumbledore might have even convinced Malfoy to switch sides. The guy may be a git, but he isn't a murderer. He will still get a ticket to Azkaban once the war is over and we won. That is if he doesn't get himself killed before." Harry said.

"So you want to tell me that Malfoy is the master of the Elder Wand right now?" Ginny asked.

"That would be the case if not one little thing had happened in the meantime." Harry said grinning and held up the hawthorn wand.

"Oh my god, you disarmed him and took his wand from him. That means…"

"Yes, there is a high probability that I am the master of the Elder Wand. We'll see if my theory is correct as soon as Riddle gets the wand from Dumbledore's grave. I'd try to stop him from getting it, but I don't see any way to get into the Hogwarts grounds undetected, break open the grave and take it for myself. I don't think I could desegregate a grave, no matter what." Harry admitted.

Ginny hugged Harry. Perhaps fate for once favoured them.

* * *

**That's it for this week. Till next weekend.**


	11. Prelude to Battle

**Hello my faithful readers. I'm back with the next chapter. Thanks to all those that left reviews.**

** Happy reading.**

* * *

**Prelude to Battle**

Voldemort stood in front of the white marble tomb. He swished his wand and the marble cracked in the middle, giving way to the place of last rest of one of the most powerful wizards in the history of Great Britain, Albus Dumbledore. The fool must have thought his grave would be capable of protecting the wand. Wrong. As if he, the most powerful wizard of the world would stop because a grave would have to be desecrated. There he laid, the man that had opposed him for so long but in the end had fallen because he (Voldemort) had ordered it. He held the wand in his hands which were folded over his chest. Strangely the body hadn't decomposed much; he very much looked like he had done in life.

Voldemort took the wand from Dumbledore's hands and a grin began spreading on his face. Then he laughed and shot a powerful spell into the air that made the already cloudy sky grumble and lightning answered the spell. The Wand of Destiny was again in the hands of a powerful wizard.

He left the grounds of the castle after leaving Snape a short message. He wanted to test the capabilities of the wand, but he also needed to get informed about the current state of his operations. The prison cell in the basement of Malfoy Manor should have filled more since his departure. The Christmas break had started and the Lovegood girl and the Weasley girl should be there. Old Ollivander would probably have liked the fact that he got company. It could get lonely in the cell. He apparated to Malfoy Manor and strode through the opening gates. Yes, even the gates recognized him and showed respect.

He entered the Manor and wondered why it was so silent. He went to the meeting room and found two of his Death Eaters, Thorfin Rowle and Marcus Flint, lying dead on the floor. He had a worried feeling in his gut and he quickly cast a spell to reveal human presence. He only got one response. He went to that room, only to find Stephen Nott lying dead on the floor. He looked around and when he finally looked up, he saw Narcissa Malfoy stuck to the ceiling. He cancelled the sticking charm and levitated her down. He took off the ropes that bound her and re-enervated her.

She looked confused, then her sight fell on him and she bowed.

"My Lord, we were attacked. It was the Reaper." She reported.

"The Reaper?" He sneered dangerously. "How could he have entered our headquarters?"

"I don't know, but he suddenly was here. He disarmed me and Stephen was downed by his Grim. Then he stunned me after I tried to get my wand back. There were four alarms caused by the taboo before it happened. I suspected that it could be ambushes when the third alarm came in, but the others didn't listen. Four teams were dispatched to investigate the alarms and catch the ones that dared to use your name, my Lord." She reported.

Then her eyes unfocused and she began speaking.

"Hello, Voldemort. I left this nice little message with Narcissa Malfoy to be triggered once you questioned her about the reason why your Death Eaters were killed. Well, I'm to blame for that. I took the liberty to set up some ambushes to get them in manageable numbers. I thought it was unfair that only you benefited from overwhelming numbers, so my helpers and I took them out when they were in small groups. It was still fairer than your little raids. Your lead werewolf fell by my sword. Don't try to find your missing minions, most of them are already dead or will soon be once I'm done interrogating the few that lived. Know that I won't stop until all of your supporters and in the end you're dead at my feet.

"As a little present for you, I freed you from looking after those prisoners in your basement. After all, it would be hard to properly take care of them now that you'll experience shortage of manpower. I really don't know how many minions you have left that would pose a challenge to me. Remember, I'll come for you, Voldemort."

With that the message ended. Voldemort screamed in fury. How did that Reaper dare to mock him? Narcissa felt the fury of her lord when she was punished for her failure with the cruciatus curse. Finally he had lost enough steam to think rationally again. The Reaper would pay for his actions, as would those that had helped him. The only problem was finding out who those people were.

He needed to analyse the incident. He demanded from Narcissa that she gave him the memory of the Reaper. She looked for her wand, but it was gone. It got her another cruciatus, before he used his wand to pull the memory from her mind. He stored the memory in a vial and ordered Narcissa to contact all Death Eaters for a meeting. He needed to know how many of them were left.

* * *

Harry hissed in pain when the connection showed him Voldemort punishing Narcissa after she had repeated the message he had left for Voldemort.

"Harry?" Ginny asked concerned.

"He just got the message I left for him. He is furious. He will have his Death Eaters meet shortly. From what I saw, he now has the wand. The wand he used to punish Narcissa looked like Dumbledore's wand." Harry reported.

Finally the pain lessened and he gratefully took the pain relieving potion that Ginny had summoned for him.

"Thanks, Ginny." He said and drank the potion.

One good thing of living at the Burrow was that thanks to Molly there always were the basic potions stocked. With a big family and not much money Molly had brewed nearly all the potions they needed herself. Now during the war, the variety of potions had increased and since Harry had come back, he had sent Kreacher to buy more ingredients for those potions that would probably be needed most, like post-cruciatus, blood-replenishing, pain-relieving, essence of dittany and bruise and burn pastes. While Molly had tried to protest him paying for all those ingredients he had cut off that argument by telling her that he was using Bellatrix' money. She didn't have any complaints after that anymore.

* * *

Voldemort sat in his private room and tried to find out how the Reaper had got into Malfoy Manor. Only his most trusted Death Eaters could bypass the wards with portkeys. Then it hit him. Bellatrix. Her rampage at the beginning of the month had been the fault of the Reaper too. He probably put her under imperius and ordered her to take out as many of the Death Eaters as she could. And Bellatrix had been one of his strongest followers. He should have considered the possibility that her portkey could be used to infiltrate the Manor. It was an oversight he wouldn't repeat. The wards would have to be set new. Then another thought crossed his mind.

What if the Reaper had interrogated Bellatrix and found out about the horcrux he had entrusted her to keep safe in her Gringotts vault? It was very improbable, but he needed to make sure. As the Lestranges were dead, the one to inherit the Lestrange fortune would be Bellatrix' sister Narcissa. Thankfully she didn't die in the attack of the Manor. He would send her to Bellatrix vault to get him the cup. It would be better if he hid it somewhere else. Then he felt his Death Eaters arriving and he went down to the meeting room.

It was a pitiful sight. His once powerful army was reduced to seven experienced Death Eaters and fifty recruits that were still not up to his standards. The werewolves didn't have a representative, because they would probably be in fights who would become the new leader of their pack. Without Greyback though, he feared some would leave his service. Only the ruthless Greyback had kept them in line. Thankfully they still had Thicknesse under the imperius. He had personally recast the curse before it could wear out after Malfoy's death. So that flank was secured.

"Report!" He ordered.

Selvana Gwyer stepped out of the ranks and sank to her knees.

"My Lord, the recruits are ready to go on raids as you ordered. With a bit of fighting experience they will spread fear in the hearts of your opponents." She said.

Well, at least one thing worked in his favour. Obviously the fear of his displeasure had worked wonders in motivating them to increase the speed of their training.

"Good. Be ready to strike at a moment's notice. I'm pleased with the timely end of their training. Severus, any problems at Hogwarts before the break started?"

"No, my Lord. The students were kept obedient and we didn't have any incidents with students protesting or defiling the walls with their paroles in a month." He reported.

"Good. The operation to get the Lovegood and Weasley girls?" He directed at Draco Malfoy.

"We were stopped by the Reaper, my Lord. He was already on the train, in the compartment next to the one the bloodtraitors were in and he and the Grim attacked us without warning. He overpowered us which led to the bloodtraitors being able to disarm and bind us." He reported fearful.

"Crucio!" Voldemort shouted and Draco screamed and twitched on the ground.

"How many more of our operations will the Reaper disturb?" Voldemort shouted angry.

"Narcissa, you'll immediately go to Gringotts and get me a golden cup with the sign of Helga Hufflepuff from your late sister's vault. As her sister, you'll be able to gain access." He ordered.

"Yes, my Lord." She said and left the room not questioning the reasons for this.

"What happened to Crabbe and Goyle?" He asked, noticing they were missing.

"They died by the hand of the Reaper when they boarded the train to take the bloodtraitor girls from us." Malfoy answered only to get hit with a cruciatus again.

"That Reaper has to die! It is now obvious that he was the one who put Bellatrix under the imperius to kill all of those that died in her rampage. We can't allow him to continue with his actions. He set up four ambushes today that cost our cause at least twenty Death Eaters and I don't know how many snatchers. This has to end." He raged.

The Death Eaters covered in fear. Nobody wanted to follow Draco in becoming a victim of the cruciatus curse.

* * *

Narcissa returned an hour later with a bag and handed it to Voldemort.

"Here, my Lord. The cup you wanted me to get from Bellatrix' vault." She said and distanced herself after handing over the bag.

"Good." He said, glad that the cup hadn't been taken.

He opened the bag to look at his horcrux and took it out. Then he screamed in fury.

"That's a fake!" He shouted and looked furious at Narcissa.

"I swear, my Lord, I did exactly as you demanded. I went to Gringotts, had the goblins take me to the Lestrange vault and looked for the cup you asked me to get. It sat on a shelf and I put it into the bag. Then I returned without interruption." Narcissa begged him to believe her.

Voldemort used Legilimency on her and knew she told the truth.

"Amycus, get me a goblin. I must find out how a fake could be in Bellatrix' vault." He ordered.

Amycus Carrow ran out of the room. While Amycus was gone, Voldemort dismissed the recruits from the meeting. Only Narcissa, Severus, Alecto, Theodon Nott, Selvana and Albert Runcorn remained. Ten minutes later he returned with the goblin that was in charge of the Lestrange vault.

"I need some questions answered, goblin. Who has visited the Lestrange vault in the last three months?" He asked.

"Only Lady Lestrange before she died and today Lady Malfoy. Nobody else entered the vault." The goblin answered.

"What did Bellatrix do when she was in the vault?" Voldemort asked.

"End of September she had a sword placed in the vault. On every first she withdrew a big amount of galleons. In October and November it were one thousand galleons, in December three thousand and she also put a golden cup from a shelf inside the bag. She left another golden cup in its place." The goblin reported.

The seven Death Eaters sprinted to the exit seeing the rage on their Lord's face.

"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort shouted and pointed his wand at the goblin.

He shot blasting hexes all around him and demolished the room thoroughly.

* * *

During dinner Harry yelled out in pain again and clutched his head.

"Again?" Ginny asked concerned and held Harry.

When Harry finally came back from the vision he had, the Order members were looking at him questioningly.

"He knows. He knows that the horcrux in Bellatrix vault was a fake. He will check up on his other horcruxes. I guess he will check the one at Hogwarts last. If we want to battle him, I guess it would be a good opportunity. The castle is empty except for a few students in Slytherin that didn't go home for the holidays. I don't think we could get a better chance to meet him, now that his forces are drastically reduced. He only has seven experienced fighters left and the recruits are only fifty. From what I saw their training is finished." Harry reported.

"Call the Order and everybody you know who would fight. Harry is right; this is a once in a million chance. He never was that low on manpower before." Remus agreed.

They all left the room, gulping down the rest of their dinner and prepared to go to Hogwarts to fight the hopefully last battle against Voldemort and his troops.

* * *

Severus sat in his office at Hogwarts wondering what was the matter about the cup. He looked at Dumbledore's portrait to find out more.

"So, what would be the reason the Dark Lord lost his temper when he found out that the cup of Hufflepuff that was hidden in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault was a fake? Care to explain, Dumbledore?" He asked.

"So that is where he hid it. I wouldn't have thought of that. And I couldn't have got it either. Harry really accomplished a fantastic deed there. Exchanging something in a Gringotts vault without Voldemort being any wiser until now." The portrait pondered. "Tell me, does he already keep his snake close to him?"

"That won't be possible. Nagini was killed early in November in a raid in Godric's Hollow. The Reaper I told you about killed her before he killed thirteen Death Eaters with a sword. We just recently got the information that it is some kind of snake venom." Snape told Dumbledore.

"Snake venom you say. I wouldn't have thought he would go that far." He said somewhat sadly.

"So, you seem to know who that Reaper that drives the Dark Lord mad is?" Snape asked.

„I have a guess." Dumbledore said.

"Are you going to tell me?" Snape sneered hating the game Dumbledore liked to play.

"Well, my guess is that it is Harry. If it was the Reaper that got the cup and killed the snake he is getting closer to completing his mission. The cup was one of the things Harry needed to find. I wish I could tell if Harry had also found the others." Dumbledore said.

"So, it would be the time to tell Potter about the piece of the Dark Lord's soul in him." Snape said resigned.

"Yes, you must find and tell him before he tries to go up against Voldemort. It is mandatory that Harry dies by Voldemort's hand. Nothing else will work." Dumbledore stated.

Snape nodded numbly. He would finish his job, even if it meant to let Lily's son die by the hand of that monster so that the monster that killed Lily could finally be killed.

* * *

The Order of the Phoenix managed to apparate to Hogsmeade before the curfew took place. Minerva informed the villagers of the battle that would soon commence at Hogwarts. Those that wanted to fight followed Minerva up to the castle. Those that didn't barricaded their houses and either disapparated or flew away on brooms.

„I've sent messages to all members of the DA. They will be there soon." Harry said, holding his fake galleon which had been used for the communication with the DA in fifth year.

"Very well. We need to get into the castle without being seen. Any ideas?" Minerva asked.

"The shrieking shack or the Honeydukes basement." Remus said.

"I understand the shack, but the basement?" Minerva asked.

"There is another tunnel that leads to the school." Remus explained.

"We will have to make sure that none of You-Know-Who's supporters get in through one of them after we did." She said.

"Don't worry, Professor. You can leave the secret passages to Fred and me." George said.

"True, we know them better than anybody besides Remus." Fred agreed.

"I don't want to know how. I really don't." Minerva groaned.

They just grinned.

"Where does the tunnel from Honeydukes comes out?" She asked.

"The humpbacked witch on the third floor." Harry answered.

Minerva groaned again.

"You couldn't refrain from corrupting him, could you?" She accused the twins.

"We, corrupting Harrykins? Never!" They protested theatrically.

"We need to go to prepare for the attack." Harry reminded them.

They nodded and split to use both ways to the school.

* * *

Voldemort was seething. He had checked the hiding place of the ring and it was gone. Somebody was searching for his horcruxes, but how could that be? He had been sure that nobody knew of his relation to the Gaunts. Then a thought hit him. Dumbledore had known his middle name. If he connected it to Marvolo Gaunt, whom he would have known about, he could have been the one to find the ring. Didn't his spies report that Dumbledore's hand had been blackened all last year? That was the curse he had placed on the ring.

What else could Dumbledore have known? Could he have known of the cave? He had never told anybody about it, but Dumbledore had been the one to give him his Hogwarts letter. Had the old matron talked about the incident in the cave? He couldn't exclude it. He needed to check. The diary was lost to Potter in the Chamber of Secrets, Malfoy had been punished for it of course, the ring now lost to Dumbledore, the locket in the cave should be safe, but he needed to make sure; the diadem at Hogwarts was safe with Snape being headmaster and there was no way Dumbledore could have found that room. No, only he had managed that. Nagini was killed by the Reaper in the attack in Godric's Hollow, the cup stolen by the Reaper through Bellatrix. It seemed the Reaper knew about his horcruxes, but how? Could Dumbledore…?

A new thought that enraged him came to his mind, if Dumbledore indeed told the Reaper of the horcruxes it was extremely likely that the Reaper was Potter. He had wanted to place Nagini at Godric's Hollow to keep a lookout for Potter, who was bound to appear there sooner or later to visit his parents' graves. And then the Reaper and his Grim suddenly appeared. Coincidence that just in Godric's Hollow the Reaper appeared? He didn't know how he would have got a Grim, but everything else made sense. Potter, he was still opposing him. Dumbledore even from the grave was fighting him through the boy this time. Well, now that he knew he wouldn't waste manpower to look for two people if in reality it was only one man. He wouldn't have thought that Potter was able to kill, but obviously he was wrong.

The snake venom on the sword had to be Basilisk venom, from the time Potter killed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. It was deadly except you had a phoenix to cry on the wound immediately. He needed to make sure his horcruxes were still safe and then Potter would pay. He was still the most powerful wizard alive. He was the master of the Elder Wand. Whatever Potter had learned during the past months, he would never be able to match him in terms of power. He was Lord Voldemort and soon the end of Harry Potter would come.

* * *

**We are getting closer to the final battle and the reason why I named the story as I did. Till next weekend.**


	12. Battle of Hogwarts

**This is a long chapter and finally Light and Dark face off against each other. I only say happy reading.**

* * *

**Battle of Hogwarts**

The Order managed to sneak into the castle without problems. As Snape and the Carrows didn't expect any disturbance, most students were at home over Christmas except a handful of Slytherins, there was not much resistance to be expected. The older Order members were tasked to take out the Carrows and Snape so that they wouldn't disturb them in the battle preparations. They expected the fight to be mostly creature based as the human base of Voldemort was massively depleted. Therefore they prepared for defending against giants, dementors, perhaps some creatures from the forest like the acromantulas.

Snape was just walking through the Great Hall when he came upon Minerva.

"Minerva, what are you doing here at this time?" He asked.

„I'm just doing my rounds around the school. While there will probably not be much to do, I still want to check everything. As far as I know that is still my job as a teacher." She said.

Snape was suspicious.

"Minerva, do you know where Potter is?" He asked.

"How would I know that? Your so called friends in the Ministry forced him to be on the run, they made him a criminal." She gave back.

"Minerva, if you know where he is, I need you to tell me." He said.

"Even if I knew, why would I tell you? So you can have your Lord kill James' son? So you can finish your feud with a man that has been dead for sixteen years?" She sneered.

"Minerva…" He was cut off by a barrage of cutting spells which he quickly shielded against.

Minerva, Remus and Kingsley were attacking him now and he knew something was going to happen. But considering the overwhelming forces he knew he had to flee. He fired back curses at his attackers and took a run towards the front door. Then he felt a signal through his dark mark. Amycus had found Potter.

* * *

Harry, Neville, Seamus and Ginny were on their way up to the Room of Requirement. Ginny had had the idea that the room could provide them with a plan how to best set up the castle's defences against the giants and so on. Harry had turned his looks back to normal as there was no reason for hiding anymore and those that would fight for the light would be more encouraged seeing Harry Potter as they 'knew' how he looked like fighting by their sides.

When they were nearly there, they came across Amycus Carrow.

"Potter!" He shouted and gleefully shoved up his left sleeve and pressed his dark mark.

"The Dark Lord will soon be here and deal with you personally. Meanwhile I'll gladly take care of those miscreants with you. I should have known that Longbottom would be the first to help a wanted criminal." He said.

"You gained quite the reputation, Neville." Harry commented.

Then he fired curses in rapid sequence at Amycus. He was very intent on making the bastard pay for what he had done to the students of Hogwarts, especially his friends and his girlfriend. Amycus obviously didn't expect such a performance and was hit a few times. Neville joined Harry and together they brought down the Death Eater. While Harry and Neville were busy fighting Amycus, his sister Alecto came up behind them and was intercepted by Ginny and Seamus. They together gave the female Death Eater a fight she wasn't prepared for. But she held her stand against them. Then her brother fell to a cutting curse from Neville.

"No!" She shouted and her lapse in concentration was enough for Ginny to get in a piercing hex through her stomach.

Alecto fell down and Ginny quickly summoned her wand. She shook when Alecto stopped moving and she realized that she had just killed her. Harry saw what had happened and wrapped Ginny in his arms.

"Shh, it's okay, you had no choice. It was either you killed her or she would have killed you." He told her while stroking her hair.

"Was that how you felt after you first had to kill?" She asked crying.

"Yes, it's horrible and it won't get any easier. It's always tearing me apart when I have to kill another Death Eater, but I then remember your words from when you came to my house and got me out of my depression. With every Death Eater we kill we protect hundreds of innocents from them. And once this war is over, we can finally live in peace." Harry told her.

Ginny nodded.

"Can you just hold me a bit longer?" She asked.

"Of course." Harry said.

Neville and Seamus distanced themselves from the couple and went to the Room of Requirement to do what they had come here for. With Voldemort now knowing that Harry was at Hogwarts they needed to get information on how to best defend soon.

They found a command centre that had a map of the castle and all the grounds when they entered the room. They saw plans of defences against different threats, many of them they had never heard of.

"We need to get McGonagall and the others here. They will be better suited to tell us what to do with this information." Seamus said.

Neville nodded and concentrated.

"Expecto Patronum." He said and his silver eagle patronus shot away to inform McGonagall.

Harry and Ginny soon followed them into the room and were impressed with the possibilities Hogwarts had to defend it. Harry still had his arm around Ginny's shoulders.

"Wow, this is great. But how will we be able to inform all our fighters from where a new attack is coming?" Harry asked.

The map glowed and showed a spell: Communicatio directum.

"Seems like that is your answer." Neville said.

Harry nodded.

* * *

Soon the older Order members arrived at the room and looked at the map the room had provided.

"Okay, I understand what we have to work with. First thing we need to do is getting the wards strengthened to repel the worst dark creatures' attacks." McGonagall said, taking charge as she knew the defences best in her position as deputy head mistress.

"Make sure you're ready to repel acromantulas. There is a big colony in the Forbidden Forest. And since the head acromantula Aragog died last year there is nothing stopping them from attacking." Harry warned.

"Aragog?" Seamus asked baffled.

"Second year. He was Hagrid's pet." Harry said.

"You will really have to tell me all your adventures once this war is over." Ginny demanded.

"Sure, love. I'll tell you all you want to know." Harry promised.

"Okay, thanks for the warning, Harry." Said McGonagall.

"You're welcome, Professor. I guess we should also expect giants and dementors. We'll need to task some of our fighters to take the giants out and repel the dementors. With the low numbers Voldemort has it's obvious that he will bring all he has as back-up." Harry said.

"You shouldn't say his name." Admonished Remus.

"That doesn't matter anymore, Remus. He knows where I am. Before we reached the room we met the Carrows. Amycus was fast to touch his dark mark and inform Voldemort. So there is no point avoiding using his name anymore." Harry explained.

"What happened to them?" Asked Kingsley.

"Dead." Seamus answered.

"I see. That makes two experienced Death Eaters less in Voldemort's ranks. That's good for us. I've sent messages out to some others that aren't members of the Order but also against the Death Eaters. I told them that we would fight at Hogwarts and asked them to come here if they wanted to help. We should soon get some healers from St. Mungo's to assist Poppy and some aurors that had to keep their heads down under the new regime." Kingsley said.

"Good to know. Harry, how long will it probably take for him to check all the hiding places?" Asked McGonagall.

"He knows about his snake, the cup, the ring and the diary. Therefore he will check the cave with the locket next and then come here. It won't take that long. Did you get Snape?" Asked Harry.

"No, the coward fled once he was sure he couldn't win against our numbers. He fled out of the wards before we could get him. Unfortunately he is very skilled." McGonagall said.

"So a repeat of last year. He will rejoin with Voldemort and then be with them when they attack. Next to the Death Eaters we probably will have to fight those that were placed under the imperius curse. With no possibility to break the curse other than taking out the caster, we'll have to make sure they won't become a problem in the fight. If possible we stun them, if not we take them out of this fight but don't maim or kill them if possible." Harry said.

"That makes sense. Okay, I see the next group of our support has arrived. We need to organize them to be ready in an hour. All time that exceeds that will be a bonus." McGonagall said.

Harry nodded and left the Room of Requirement with his friends.

* * *

"Ron, the galleon of the DA had a message!" Shouted Hermione.

"What message, Hermione?" Ron asked, both were gaining the attention of other students from Hogwarts that had fled to France once they found out about the persecution of muggleborns.

"They are fighting at Hogwarts. You-Know-Who is attacking there. Ron, do you think that means…?" She asked.

"It seems so. It could mean that Harry has really found them all." Ron answered disbelievingly.

It was just after Christmas and he and Hermione had only been in France for three weeks. They had been happy to find out that some people they knew from the DA had also started at Beauxbatons. Hermione had been really busy trying to catch up on her studies; Ron had been having problems with the change to French. He didn't speak the language like Hermione did from vacations with her parents. While Madame Maxime was helping out the English students with translation charms it was expected that they learned French during their free time. Ron didn't like that, but with no alternative to Beauxbatons he was stuck.

How in hell did Harry find all the horcruxes in such a short time? They had been stuck on their search for over a month when they had separated involuntarily. How did Harry do it? A bit of the old jealousy came back, but he forced it down. While at the Burrow or Shell Cottage he had talked with Bill and Charlie. They had shown up his jealousy as one of his most pressing problems. He knew that Harry hadn't had any more information and he knew the horcrux had used his insecurities to put him against his friend. But how was it possible that Harry now had finished the quest?

Hermione had similar thoughts. How had Harry done it and where had the horcruxes been hidden? They had looked at all the places they had thought one could be hidden, except Harry's ridiculous idea of Hogwarts of course. There simply was no chance of Voldemort hiding a horcrux there.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked.

"I don't think we can do something right now." A former fifth year Hufflepuff said. "I mean, we don't know how to get back to England and I doubt we'll be that much help in the fight. Most of us are underage and don't know that much magic. You two, Justin and Morag are probably the exception. You're the only ones of age of us."

It was true. Hermione, Ron, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Morag McDougal were the only seventh year students of Hogwarts that had been in the DA and were at Beauxbatons. And they didn't have portkeys to go to Hogwarts. The floo was monitored by the Ministry, so there was no way they would be there in time.

"Wouldn't Madame Maxime be able to help us get a portkey? I don't want to let Harry fight on his own." Hermione said, still feeling very guilty about leaving Harry alone.

"I don't think so. While she allowed us muggleborns to attend Beauxbatons, the French Ministry doesn't want to be involved in the war in England as long as it stays there. The only way they would interfere would be if You-Know-Who attacked the continent. Then they would act. Until now it is a national problem of Great Britain." Justin said. "And the Ministry has to permit a portkey before it can be made. Madame Maxime wouldn't risk getting in trouble with the French Ministry only because four students want to go back and fight. She would only argue that we haven't graduated yet and therefore have no business in fighting in the war we fled from."

"That's so frustrating. I wouldn't have thought that Harry would find them that fast." Hermione ranted.

Ron nodded. In hindsight, if this would have been expectable, they wouldn't have had to hide in France. And over the Christmas break too. There was a record number of students staying at Beauxbatons as the twenty muggleborns that had fled here couldn't return to Britain for fear of persecution.

* * *

Voldemort had felt the signal from Amycus Carrow that they had Potter at Hogwarts. But before he could take care of the brat once and for all he needed to make sure his horcruxes were still safe. He had reached the island with the basin that held the potion. He, as the one who had set up the protections, could easily vanish the potion, only to find the basin empty. He raged and fired curses all around him. Not that he had anything to hit to begin with. Damn it all. This horcrux should have been the safest. Nobody should have known about it, but obviously Dumbledore had known about the cave and that he had terrorized the orphans here. Damn the old man. Now only the diadem at Hogwarts was left. Well, he would go there next.

He left the cave and apparated back to Malfoy Manor to find out if any other news than the Carrows having Potter had come in. He was really surprised to find Severus at the Manor, healing some cuts on his right shoulder. Otherwise he seemed okay.

"Why are you here, Severus?" Voldemort asked.

Snape knelt down.

"My Lord, Hogwarts fell to the Order of the Phoenix and Potter. I don't know what happened with the Carrows, I only felt them calling through the dark mark when I was fighting McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt and the werewolf Lupin." He reported, only to be hit with a cruciatus.

"Damn it all. Gather all our troops and the imperiused. We're attacking Hogwarts in one hour!" Voldemort ordered and strode out of the room.

* * *

The number of the defenders of Hogwarts had risen to seventy nine by now. Obviously the message that the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter would face You-Know-Who there soon had spread faster than anybody had thought. And there were still people arriving. Just five minutes ago a portkey from Romania had brought Charlie and five other dragon handlers in. And the greatest surprise for them all was that they had brought a dragon with them. A Norwegian Ridgeback. Hagrid, who had arrived half an hour ago had been delighted to see Norberta again.

Charlie told them that Norberta was the best trained dragon of all the ones in the preserve and would help against the giants they were awaiting. They guessed it was because she had been raised by Hagrid for the first weeks of her life and was therefore more used to human contact than others of her kind. It was then that Harry found out that obviously dragons were not that far distant relatives of snakes. While it sounded like Norberta spoke with a heavy accent, Harry could understand her and managed to explain her what they needed her help for. All the dragon handlers were very impressed with Harry's ability and Charlie told Harry he just had to come visit the preserve once all this madness was over. A dragon speaker hadn't been seen in over two hundred years.

From the Room of Requirement McGonagall was keeping all fighters updated on the events on the grounds. When the number of defenders had reached one hundred and two, she sent an alarm that their opponents had arrived. All fighters took their positions. Fred and George had booby trapped all the passages that led into the castle and the one from the Shrieking Shack. That should hinder the Death Eaters a lot, if they even knew about the passages. With Pettigrew dead they couldn't be sure how much he had told Voldemort before his death.

All fighters had been warned that the Death Eaters would be fighting in dragon hide armour, so they needed to target areas that weren't protected like the head. It was a good thing Crabbe and Goyle senior had been so stupid to tell Harry on the train what measures had been taken to protect the Death Eaters from the sword attacks of the Reaper.

"There are about four giants, two hundred dementors, fifty five Death Eaters and forty other fighters, not sure if under imperius or not." Came the information from the walls in McGonagall's voice. "I will let Ginny Weasley take over the information transfer now and come to aid in the fight." She said.

It had been decided to keep the underage members of the DA in positions where they could be useful but not in direct danger in the fights. Ginny had protested, but the twins had managed to convince her that Harry wouldn't be able to fight at his best if he had to fear that she would be in danger. So as a compromise, Ginny would coordinate the defenders from the command centre in the Room of Requirement. She had accepted that as she just hated not being of any use. Many others, like Luna and Collin Creevey, who had come on the call Harry had sent, were in the infirmary, helping Madam Pomfrey prepare for the injured that were sure to come in.

"Okay, as long as you are within a mile around the castle the dementors won't be a problem. The castle's wards against them have been activated. The giants are coming in from the direction of the Black Lake, Charlie, Hagrid, take Norberta and Grawp over there to fend them off." Ginny ordered now.

Harry quickly translated for Norberta and asked her to follow Charlie's orders in the fight and the four headed over to the lake. Then they could see the Death Eaters standing in front of the gates. Their numbers looked massive, but they all knew it had been a lot more before. The ambushes and the interference Harry had done over the last one and a half months with their raids had cut down their numbers massively. All the fighters knew that most of those in Death Eater robes were recruits just out of training. With the Carrows dead the number of experienced Death Eaters had been reduced to five. The other forty or so were imperiused victims. But it seemed Voldemort had one last trick up his sleeve. He had clad all his followers in the robes and the masks. Nobody would be able to target his followers exclusively.

Harry knew he had to make sure that the defenders wouldn't hold back, now that they wouldn't be able to distinguish between Death Eaters and victims.

"He will only have given his Death Eaters dragon hide suits. Shoot stunners on everybody. If it doesn't work, target the heads with the permanent stuff, the others should fall to stunners. We can't afford to them reviving their fighters so make sure the stunned stay down." He reminded them.

A fierce determination rushed through all defenders. Then Voldemort had the idea to try and deter them from their resistance.

"Defenders of Hogwarts. I, Lord Voldemort, don't like spilling magical blood. All of you are brave members of our world. Lord Voldemort values bravery. So I am willing to forgive you this useless attempt to go up against my rule. Join me. I will spare all of you, you can all return home without victims today. You just have to hand over Harry Potter to me." He said.

It was Neville who gave him the answer.

"I am Neville Franklin Longbottom. And I will never join you. I will join you when hell freezes over. Your mercy means having to buckle before an insane maniac with delusions of grandeur who will curse his own followers with the Cruciatus or the Avada Kedavra when he feels like it. Never! Dumbledore's Army!" He shouted.

"Dumbledore's Army!" The shout was taken up by the others.

Voldemort seethed. How did this boy dare to mock him?

"You chose your fate. Dementors and giants, attack!" Voldemort ordered.

The dementors glided forward, but at one point they couldn't get further.

"What the hell is that, Severus?" Voldemort asked the Death Eater to his right.

"I have never seen that before. It must be one of the ancient protections of the castle, my Lord." He tried to explain.

"And how couldn't you know about them? Aren't you the headmaster of Hogwarts?" He sneered.

"I am, but even the headmaster is only told about certain defences in case a threat to the school appears. And part of the knowledge is always held back until one year has passed for the current headmaster. That was written down in the charter of the founders to not have too many people know about the defences in case an interim headmaster was chosen. Otherwise Umbridge would also have known more about the castle than she did." Snape answered.

Voldemort tried to not curse his strongest follower. In the upcoming fight he needed the power of Severus. With the Carrows probably dead, he only had Selvana, Narcissa, Albert, Theodon and Severus left who had any experience in a fight. Then there were the imperiused members he had taken from the Ministry. Some were capable, but most were not. They were mostly bureaucrats that hadn't seen a fight in all their lives. Strangely the auror office had been cleared before he had found out about his horcruxes being destroyed.

Then there was a massive eruption of fire from the Black Lake and two of the giants howled in pain. Another giant was stopped by another, smaller giant and the third was busy with spells being shot at him and a bunch of hippogriffs attacking it.

"They have a dragon!" One of the younger Death Eaters shouted in fright.

"For Hogwarts, for our freedom, get them!" They then heard the voice of Harry Potter shouting.

* * *

The defenders of the castle came upon them and soon their ranks were torn apart. Massive spellfire came from the direction of the castle. Some of the imperiused fighters didn't get their shields up in time and fell stunned to the ground.

Harry led the fighters towards the Death Eaters. He needed to take out Voldemort. Anubis was by his side, shielding him while he fired cutting curses, bone breaking hexes and the occasional sectumsempra at the attackers. All around him others engaged the Death Eaters in fights. Spells flew back and forth. His target was Voldemort. As usual he let his minions do the grunt work. Harry cut through at least ten of them; some fell by the sword of Gryffindor, which he wielded with his left while his wand was in his right. Finally he saw him in the middle of an intense fight. Kingsley, McGonagall and Sprout were fighting him three on one. Close by another Death Eater, probably Snape, was fighting another three, Molly, Remus and Bill.

"Hey, Tom, why don't we settle this once and for all?" Harry shouted.

"Potter, so you finally came out of your hole you had hidden in." Voldemort sneered.

"You might not have seen me, but I had some things to do. You know, looking for a few items you thought were important." Harry said, knowing it would worry Voldemort.

Kingsley, McGonagall and Sprout all knew the prophecy and that Harry had to do this. He was the only one who could do this. They turned and quickly decided the fight against the obviously powerful opponents in Voldemort's ranks. In the sky the dementors fled from Norberta and Charlie, who had found out that dragon-fire was something dementors feared. It completely destroyed them. The defenders herded the Death Eaters together and cut them down. Mass stunners and cutting hexes combined made sure they had no chance to escape. This time it would end for good.

Harry and Voldemort had a big circle for themselves, watching each other. Only Anubis was there by Harry's side.

"So you are the Reaper. I wouldn't have thought that Dumbledore's golden boy would use such methods as you did. Didn't the old man tell you that killing was wrong?" Voldemort mocked.

"Strange to hear that from a halfblood that thinks only purebloods are worth living. Somebody who killed for fun. I only kill if I don't have another choice and for our country to finally be free of your delusions I rather take the burden myself than have others bear it. But you should be aware that I will indeed be the bringer of the one thing you always feared; Death." Harry said.

"You can't kill me; I am immortal." Voldemort shouted.

"The diary in 1993 in the Chamber of Secrets with a basilisk fang." Harry said, making Voldemort's eyes go wide. The boy knew about his horcruxes.

"The ring in the Gaunt shack was destroyed by Professor Dumbledore in the summer of 1996. Slytherin's locket hidden in the cave of inferi was found by Regulus Black before he died and destroyed by me with the sword of Gryffindor a few weeks ago in Godric's Hollow. Nagini, I killed with a sectumsempra curse also in Godric's Hollow early in November. The cup of Helga Hufflepuff I got from Bellatrix, who had it hidden in her vault at Gringotts the first of December, but you already knew about that and lastly, Ravenclaw's lost diadem was found by my friends in the Room of Requirement here at Hogwarts and I destroyed it two weeks ago while staying in a hotel in Nottingham. All your horcruxes are destroyed, you are mortal again Tom Marvolo Riddle." Harry shouted the last part.

* * *

Severus Snape knew Potter needed to know now that he was the last horcrux and that the monster could only be killed if he died before him, but he couldn't get close enough. Then he was knocked down by a cutting curse to his neck, curtsy of Remus Lupin. When he felt his life slipping away, he knew he had failed his most important mission.

* * *

Anubis felt now was the time for his mission to go into the final phase. It hadn't been coincidence that he was at Godric's Hollow just when Harry was there to visit his parents' graves. No, he had known that his wizard to form a familiar bond with was going to be there. The last worthy member of the noble Peverell line. Now here stood the last descendants of Ignotus and Cadmus Peverell opposite each of other, ready to take out the other one. His job was to make sure the worthy heir of the Peverell line was the winner in the end; Harry Potter. He had noticed that in Harry there was another part of the evil soul that had also been living in the locket. But until the other containers of the evil soul had been destroyed it would have been too early to take action. This piece of soul was the weakest one; the only one that hadn't intentionally been placed out of the dark one's body.

Therefore it could be exorcised from Harry, but the circumstances had to be right. For this to work the three Deathly Hallows had to be united in one place under the power of one wizard. Harry had the Cloak of Invisibility. It was his birth right. The Stone of Resurrection was in the snitch and he would send Harry a message to finally take it out. The Elder Wand, while in the hands of the dark one, was Harry's rightful possession. It was time to start. Time to start the ritual known as Death's Ultimatum.

Harry got a mental message form Anubis to take out the Resurrection Stone. The snitch would open if he said something connected to death. He trusted Anubis and took out the snitch from the mokeskin pouch.

"Oh, do you want to play a match of Quidditch now?" Voldemort laughed at Harry, covering up his distress at hearing the boy had really found all his horcruxes and destroyed them. But he still was nothing against him, the most powerful wizard in the world, the master of the Elder Wand.

"You can't win against me. I have the Elder Wand. I am the master of the Deathstick." Voldemort said.

Harry took the snitch to his mouth and whispered 'death'. The snitch opened and there like Harry had expected was the Resurrection Stone. He took it out and looked at Anubis. To his surprise the eyes of his familiar were glowing again like they did when he had banned the soul piece in the locket. Then Harry grabbed his scar in pain.

"No, that can't be." Harry whispered.

Voldemort tried to profit from Harry's sudden weakness and fired an Avada Kedavra at him. That was just what Anubis had waited for. All requisites for the ritual Death's Ultimatum were met now. He caught the green light of the killing curse and held it in position. The Elder Wand was vibrating, Harry like in trance turned the Resurrection Stone three times in his hand and the images of his parents, Sirius, Cedric and Dumbledore appeared. They took positions in the five points of an invisible pentagram.

"Harry, we are so proud of you." James said looking at his son.

"Yes, baby. You have gone through so much hardship and still kept your good heart. We love you so much." Lily said.

"You were a great friend and fair competitor in whatever match we were up against each other, Harry. Don't think you were responsible for my death. I was unlucky to be of no importance to Voldemort. Live your life and take him down." Cedric said.

"Meeting you got me out of the darkness that had trapped me from my time at Azkaban, Harry. You were the only thing I had worth living for. I don't regret that my death happened while I was protecting you. You were best godson I could have ever hoped for and I am happy where I am now." Sirius said smiling. He looked so much younger and healthier than ever.

"You have become a fine young man, Harry. I am very proud of you. Your willingness to take the burden of defender against the dark, your willingness to sacrifice even your life to take down Voldemort has led to a magical ritual not even I had thought would be possible to achieve. The piece of his soul in you will be weighed against your soul. Death gives an Ultimatum for one soul and the losing soul will perish. Our souls will be the guards that keep the judging warded against outside influence." Dumbledore said.

Harry was filled with so much happiness hearing the words of the people who had died for him, that they didn't hold him responsible, that they loved him and were proud of him. He and Voldemort were both enveloped in a pillar of light. Some spells from frantic surviving Death Eaters hit the barrier, but the souls of Sirius, Dumbledore, Cedric and his parents kept them out.

The cloak and the stone on Harry glowed light blue. The Elder Wand glowed dark blue and then Voldemort shouted out and had to drop the hot wand or have his hand burned. The wand fell down and then shot towards Harry. Harry's scar broke open and a black mist shot out shrieking like in horrible pain.

"You did it, Harry." James exclaimed happily. "His soul piece couldn't take the love your soul is filled with anymore and was banished from your body. Now you only have to finish off the last piece of his soul."

"You have the means already before you. Use it." Lily said, pointing at the killing curse that Anubis still kept trapped.

"Bring the world back into the light, my boy, I trust you." Dumbledore said.

"Tell Remus I'm very glad he got off his butt and married my cousin. I'm sorry we all left him behind, but I'm sure he will be otherwise occupied and not have much time to dwell on his grief very soon." Sirius said. "I never told you, but I love you, Harry. Make that pretty red haired girlfriend of yours a very happy woman." He said grinning lecherously.

Harry couldn't help but laugh a bit at that comment. That was so typically Sirius.

"We will always watch over you, Harry. We love you and will always support your decisions even if you can't see us." Lily said. "And I just love the girl that stole your heart. I thoroughly approve." She added.

"Yes, son, it's a historically proven fact that Potter men just can't withstand the charm of a fiery redhead." James said.

Anubis nudged Harry's leg with his nose. Harry nodded; it was time to end this dark chapter in British wizarding history.

"Accio Tom Riddle." Harry called out using the Elder Wand and Voldemort was pulled from his position. There was no withstanding the Elder Wand under the command of its true master.

Harry let him fall directly in the suspended killing curse. In his eyes showed the utter disbelief about being beaten by Harry Potter in such a way. But that emotion was the last he felt when his own killing curse took his life. Harry saw the souls he had called smile at him and then vanish back into the afterlife. Anubis returned to his puppy form. His job was done. From now on he only was the familiar of Harry Potter. The new Master of Death.

* * *

**The battle is over. How did you like my version of getting rid of the Horcrux in Harry? I thought I should come up with something besides letting Voldy kill Harry and letting the goblins extract it. That would have been a problem in the war anyway. **

**Thanks to all my reviewers. And the story still isn't done for completely. Next week Ron and Hermione will get their due.**


	13. Happy New Year

**Have fun with the new update.**

* * *

**Happy New Year**

The defenders of Hogwarts looked at the pentagram that had appeared around Harry and Voldemort. Nobody could hear anything of what was spoken inside the pentagram, but many recognized the five ghostlike figures that stood at the tips of the pentagram. James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Cedric Diggory and Albus Dumbledore kept all outside influence to whatever happened inside the pentagram out. When the killing curse had been shot at the distracted Harry many had thought it was over, but then the unthinkable happened and the spell stopped in midair. Harry pulled out the snitch and took something out. Most were too busy with their own fights to really see what he had in his hand. Suddenly the pentagram became visible in the air with shimmering, misty silver walls and the five figures appeared.

Most fights stopped as both sides were looking at the main fight now. Whatever happened inside the pentagram would decide this war. The Death Eaters were down to a few still fighting, the defenders had also lost many. The numbers would only be known once this fight was decided. Then something rose in the air from Harry's scar. A black mist as far as they could make out through the silver mist. Obviously the ghosts told Harry something, because he stood up and then, to the utter surprise of the spectators Voldemort was summoned into his own killing curse, effectively ending his life. When Voldemort's body hit the ground, the defenders started cheering. When the misty walls came down and the ghosts disappeared, they rushed towards Harry and Anubis.

The remaining Death Eaters realized that they had no chance to win anymore and dropped their wands. They were quickly stunned, bound and a team of fifteen levitated the captives towards the castle. They would be kept somewhere safe, one of the dungeons should work perfectly, until they could be put on trial. Which would happen as soon as they got the Ministry run by a proper government again.

Harry got slaps on the back from Bill, Remus and Kingsley, Molly pulled him in one of her infamous hugs. But the best gift for Harry was when he was led in a triumphal march back to the castle where Ginny was already waiting for him at the entrance doors. She ran towards him as soon as she saw him and he pulled her into a firm hug. Then he kissed her in front of all the defenders, gaining happy cheers all around him.

Harry was forced by Ginny to see Madam Pomfrey despite his protests he was fine. She was stubborn though. There was no chance in hell she would risk her boyfriend over a not detected injury now that he had finally ended Voldemort. The ruler of the infirmary examined him and healed a few cuts, but let him and Ginny go as, for once, Harry had managed to not get so injured that he needed to stay there. Others were not so lucky. Fred had been victim of a crumbling wall that had been hit by the club of the last giant standing. Only the fact that he had two house elves with him, he had been tasked with sealing the hidden passages and the house elves could set up impenetrable wards in the school they were bound to, had saved his life. He had three broken ribs, a broken leg and arm and a concussion, but the elves got him out there before more could happen. One rib though had pierced his lung, but the quick treatment from Madam Pomfrey saved his life.

Arthur Weasley had suffered a bad gash on his right leg. He was lying in one of the beds now, getting a blood replenishing potion. Some people were unconscious; the Death Eaters had used blasting hexes to reduce the numbers of the defenders. In a heroic fight Neville and Seamus had taken out Narcissa Malfoy. Both had a few burns on their arms, but were treated with burn salve by Luna. After Norberta and Grawp had taken care of the giants, a massive avalanche of acromantula from the forest had appeared. Grawp had smashed dozens with a won club before they could even get close to the fighters. Others had met their end in the fire blasts from Norberta before she and Charlie took care of the dementors.

Many others had become victims of curses and needed treatment, all the helpers were really busy right now handing out potions and healing cuts with easy healing spells, but they were sure to recover over time.

There also had been deaths. Katie Bell, Demelza Robins, Sybill Trelawney, Terry Boot and ten others had fallen. For the Weasleys a massive hit came when the dead Death Eaters and controlled fake Death Eaters were unmasked. Percy Weasley was with them. He hadn't worn dragon hide, so it was safe to say he had been imperiused and forced to fight for Voldemort. Only five Death Eaters had survived, all of them younger ones. None of the inner circle had survived the battle. Of Voldemort's about a hundred people strong attack force thirty five survived. The defenders were glad that only about ten of the imperiused had died. The Minister, Pius Thicknesse, was one of them.

The fight had started around nine in the evening and taken two hours. Now the clean up teams were identifying the fallen Death Eaters. It was clear that Voldemort had caused many old pureblood lines to die out now. The Crabbe and Goyle lines were dead. Vincent and Gregory had been with the dead. The Malfoy line didn't survive either. Draco and Narcissa both fell in the fights. The only surviving younger Death Eaters were Pansy Parkinson, Zacharias Smith, Adrian Pucey, Millicent Bulstrode and Blaise Zabini. But they would be locked away for life, so their lines would probably end with them as well.

One person nobody was sad that had died in the fight was Dolores Umbridge. The woman had been the cause of suffering for many muggleborns in the past months. When the clock chimed midnight, many were surprised when Neville, who had just realized what the date was, shouted: "Happy New Year!"

Others took up the shout and also wished all around a happy new year. Their world would now be able to come back from the darkness Voldemort had brought upon them. Harry and Ginny took to celebrating the new year in a more private way. Harry was a bit overwhelmed with all the well-wishers and needed to get away for a while. Ginny accompanied him and together they went to the Room of Requirement. The time for mourning the fallen would come soon, but for now she knew her boyfriend needed her more than her mother. There Harry involved Ginny in a very heated snogging session that was only interrupted when McGonagall came into the room to see where the biggest damages had been dealt to the school

* * *

Early in the morning, the defenders, except for a few that kept watch over their captives, had gone to bed around two, news from all over the country began coming in. After the fight was over the imperiused that hadn't been in the battle with Voldemort, all those not working at the Ministry as that had been the only place he went to in the short time since discovering that Harry was at Hogwarts, were waking up again, Kingsley had taken a group of aurors that had helped in the battle back with him to the Ministry to start the first clean up and arrest the supporters of the regime of terror before they could get away. They would need big amounts of veritaserum, but that could be handled later. First they needed to take the immediately necessary actions.

Kingsley had been named interim Minister for Magic. The first action he did was disbanding the muggleborn registration committee. He sent out hundreds of owls to inform the muggleborns that had hidden themselves in the muggle world or fled the country about their victory over Voldemort and that all calls for hearings in front of the commission were void. He sent an official statement to the Daily Prophet, announcing the Death of Voldemort by the hand of Harry Potter. He knew Harry wouldn't thank him, but it was the truth. And it was high time that the Ministry and the media started telling the truth. In the next few weeks he would tell the true story, excepting secret information of course, nobody needed to know about the Deathstick besides those in the know. It was too dangerous if that wand got into the wrong hands.

* * *

The English students at Beauxbatons were waiting for the delivery of the Daily Prophet anxiously. If the fight had been won by the light side there should be something in there. Then the owls swooped down and delivered the newspaper. Hermione was one of the first to unroll hers. There on the front page was the news they had all waited for. Harry had won.

"He did it, Ron, he did it." She shouted excitedly.

"That he did. Read the article out loud, Hermione." He told her.

Many others were now also listening intently to the English students that had cheered loudly when they read the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"POTTER WINS!

In the final battle at the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry the defenders of the light following Harry Potter and the Death Eaters under the command of Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, met at nine last evening. In a violent exchange of spells the defenders won the fight for freedom.

At the end of the battle, Harry Potter and Tom Riddle faced off against each other. The only help Harry Potter had in the fight was that of his familiar, the Grim puppy Anubis. When Riddle tried to kill Potter with an Avada Kedavra curse Anubis stopped the curse in midair and Potter started an unknown ritual. A pentagram was created around the two combatants and for some reason Riddle's wand changed allegiance to Potter. The pentagram was keeping all outside influence out, this was powered by the suddenly appeared ghostly images of Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Cedric Diggory and James and Lily Potter. Witnesses saw that a black mist disappeared from Potter's famous scar and then he took the last action against Riddle. With what looked like a summoning charm he pulled Riddle into his own, still suspended killing curse. The Dark Lord Voldemort is dead!

The interim Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, declares all legislation that has been passed during the past six months void. All official calls for muggleborns to present themselves in front of the muggleborn registration committee are void and the already convicted muggleborns will be freed as soon as possible. A more detailed statement will follow tomorrow once the damages and losses of the battle have been determined." Hermione read out.

Cheers went through all the students. That was what they had been waiting for. They were free and could return to their families again.

"I don't believe it; he really managed it and found all of the horcruxes within three months." Hermione said shocked.

"Hey, you can say it again." Ron noticed.

"It must be because Riddle died." Hermione said. "We can go back."

"Yes, and I think there will be no problems now that the war is over to get those portkeys made by the Ministry." Ron said hopefully.

"Do you think Harry will forgive us?" She asked.

"I think so. If we explain it to him and apologize I think he'll forgive us. We made a terrible mistake, but it wasn't intentional. It will take some time until things go back to normal, probably it won't be like before, but I don't think he'll stop being friends with us. That's not who Harry is." Ron said.

"I hope you're right, Ron. I still feel horrible for how we left him. And now he fought the deciding battle without us." She replied.

Ron nodded. There was no golden trio in this last battle, only Harry Potter and the defenders of Hogwarts who followed his lead. They should have been there, directly by his side. A bit of jealousy tried to come up, but he squashed it quickly. This was alone his and Hermione's fault. Mainly his. He had been the one to leave the tent in his rage. He had been influenced by the horcrux, but still, he should have trusted his friend. He had known that Harry wasn't interested in Hermione. He loved Ginny. He had finally accepted that fact. All the talks with Bill and Charlie had helped him realize what a mess he had made out of his friendship just because he was too insecure to ask Hermione out himself.

Madame Maxime stood.

"I know you all are very excited about those great news. I will contact the French Ministry of Magic to get you all portkeys home. You all will still have the choice to stay until the end of the school year and take your exams first. You can first go home and then decide what you want to do. Beauxbatons will be open for you whatever you decide." She told them. "I guess you have some packing to do. The portkeys back to England will be ready tomorrow morning. A happy new year to all of you." She said.

"A happy new year." Was the collective answer.

* * *

Harry and Ginny sat on a couch in the Gryffindor common room. Anubis lay on a blanket in front of the fire. All the Weasleys were currently staying at the school. There was just so much to do to repair the damages to the castle. The most serious was the destroyed wall where the giant had hit with its club. The house elves had assured them though that they could take care of that problem in a few days. No vital parts and living quarters had been damaged, so it was no problem to house those that were helping with the rebuilding. With a second announcement Kingsley had informed the people that the new school term would start late on the first of February to get the repairs done. The term would last until the fifth of July.

Ginny was a bit depressed at the thought of Percy having died in the fight. Harry was consoling her as well as he could. Molly had been in tears. Even if Percy had deserted his family, he was still a Weasley and to have him having died being under the imperius curse forced to fight for Voldemort was doubly hard on her. Remus had returned to Tonks. Both would move in at the castle as Minerva, who now was headmistress again, had asked Remus to take over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher again. He had gladly accepted. Thankfully none of the teachers at Hogwarts, except the Carrows, Snape and Trelawney, of them only Trelawney was counted as a teacher and in Harry's opinion her subject was rubbish if you didn't have the talent, had died, so teaching could start again with Remus taking the Defence position and Ted Tonks filling in until the end of year in the Muggle Studies position.

Harry and Ginny had visited Fred and Arthur in the hospital wing and told them the bad news about Percy. Arthur and Fred had been really sad and Fred was sorry that his brother had been forced to fight for Voldemort just because he had been too authority loving. If he only had deserted the Ministry earlier, he could still be alive. Fred was recovering well, after a night living with the pain the skelegrow potion caused he told Harry now he could somewhat understand his episode in second year with having all bones in his arm re-grown.

The portrait opened and they were curious who was coming here. They were both shocked to see Ron and Hermione standing there with bags in their hands. Both looked at Harry and Ginny with awkward expressions.

"Harry…" Ron started, but he was stopped from saying anything, when Ginny hit both him and Hermione with one of her feared bat-bogey hexes.

"How could you?" Ginny shouted.

Both Ron and Hermione tried to get the hex undone. When Hermione finally ended both hexes, they saw the furious face of Ginevra Molly Weasley hovering over them, promising them pain.

"How could you do that to Harry? Do you know how much you hurt him? How could you just leave him? I thought you were his best friends, but what did you do? Doubt him all the time. Dismiss his ideas outright. And then, when things get hard you simply left!" She shouted sending more curses at them that 'Hermione only barely managed to shield against and they still got hit by some.

"Ginny, please, we didn't mean to leave him. Please, we are so sorry. We tried to find him and get back to him. We looked in all the places we thought he could gone to for three weeks over the days. But we couldn't find him, so we tried to see if the Order could help us. But nobody had an idea where he could have been. Please, believe us." Hermione pleaded from behind her shield.

"Harry, I know I was an ass and the horcrux was only part of my problem. You know I don't have that much confidence. I felt so useless in the task. And the horcrux used my insecurities and made me think you didn't need me. That you and Hermione would be better off without me. I wanted to return after I had cooled down a bit, I didn't want to argue with you again. But then the snatchers got us. Please, Hermione tried to get back at once, but she had to take care of my injuries from the attack. If you need to be angry at somebody, be angry at me, not her." Ron pleaded. "I'm so sorry."

Harry had listened to his two friends intently. He had to hold back Ginny to attack them again. She was more furious than he was. He was still terribly hurt though and if they wanted to reconcile their friendship, they needed to accept that he had changed over the last months. He needed to say his piece first before he could decide what to do.

"You hurt me more than you know." He told them. "Not only by leaving, that much I could have forgiven you as it was an accident, but not trusting me. I knew that you were talking behind my back when you thought I wouldn't notice. You were unhappy with the way the search went, but you never listened to my ideas. Where were the places I wanted to look for the horcruxes?" Harry asked.

"Hogwarts and you also wanted to go to Godric's Hollow." Hermione said.

"In Godric's hollow I found Anubis, nearly beaten to death by a bunch of muggle brutes. I saved his life and he became my familiar. He was the one to stop Voldemort's killing curse when I was shortly distracted by my scar acting up again. I was the last horcrux. Dumbledore knew. I didn't talk to his portrait yet, but his soul imprint already told me that he wouldn't have thought of the ritual that happened coming together as a way to solve the problem of me being a horcrux. I also managed to kill Nagini during a raid there. Hadn't I gone there, the only way for Voldemort to be killed would have been that I died." Harry said, shocking Ron and Hermione to the core.

Ginny grabbed his hand. She was the only one who knew everything about the ritual and the Deathly Hallows which were now safely hidden in Harry's mokeskin pouch. Anubis had made it clear that Harry shouldn't put the wand back in Dumbledore's grave. He had to take over as the guardian of the wand. Harry had reluctantly agreed. He had put a fake into the grave instead to have people believe that the wand was back with Dumbledore.

"The second idea Harry had, searching at Hogwarts was also correct. Neville and I found the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw in the Room of Requirement, the part where all hidden things are in and where Harry hid his Potions book. The diadem was his marker." Ginny said scathingly. "And the book helped a lot with brewing potions to prepare for the final battle." She couldn't stop herself from saying.

"How did you know to look for the horcrux?" Hermione asked shocked that Harry had been right on both accords.

Harry and Ginny glared at her for the tone she used. It was typical for Hermione to not believe that she could have been wrong. It had been like that in third year when she had stubbornly believed that she had been right to simply tell McGonagall about the firebolt without asking Harry. It had been like that with the Halfblood Prince's book in sixth year and not believing that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. Thankfully Hermione shrank back under the combined glares.

"When I killed those Death Eaters in Godric's Hollow, I got sick from the guilt I felt. I was really bad and Fawkes and Anubis decided that I needed human help, so Fawkes got Ginny from Hogwarts. I told her everything. About the mission, about how you deserted me, my training at my relatives house, that was where I went after you left me, the only place where I had a chance to get some supplies without money, and what I had concluded about the hiding places. Contrary to you, she didn't ridicule my suggestions and dismissed them outright, but thought them through. She talked to me about what she thought of my ideas. She didn't simply say yes to everything, but helped me look at the different sides of my ideas. She helped me to come up with a new plan of action." Harry said.

"I'll always be there for you, love." Ginny said and Harry smiled gratefully at her.

Anubis barked, telling him he would also be at his side.

"Thanks, Anubis." Harry replied. "I've always relied too much on you, Hermione. That became clear to me when I was on my own. It also made me realize that doing things Dumbledore's way didn't work. He failed me." Harry stated.

"How can you say that, Harry? Professor Dumbledore always looked out for you." Hermione protested.

"Did he? He did a pretty bad job in that." Harry glared at her again. "He knew about the prophecy from the beginning. He knew it would come down to Voldemort and me. So why didn't he prepare me better? I had a lot of time to think about it. I can accept that he didn't want to burden me while I was younger, but after Voldemort came back, things should have been handled differently. I was isolated at the Dursleys, stewing in my guilt over Cedric's death.

"Having some of you visit while the Order guarded us, even if it had only been a few hours a week, would have made a huge difference. Alone if somebody had told me that there were no new developments and that there were guards to make sure I was safe would have made things better. It would have shown me that I wasn't alone. That people cared about me. That wasn't dangerous information. If Voldemort would have realized the connection earlier, that information wouldn't have hurt the Order. It was just logical to guard me.

"Then how the staff handled the Umbridge situation. I've read up on blood quills meanwhile. They are dark objects and are only allowed to be used by Gringotts and the Ministry in very restricted situations. Marriage contracts, a last will and written oaths of secrecy for example. That's all. Having the students write lines in detention was clearly an act that should have got her a direct ticket to Azkaban. The dark detectors that year should have noticed them. But McGonagall only told me to keep my head down to not get detention. It should have been obvious that Umbridge didn't need reasons she would have put me there anyway." He exclaimed angrily.

"Then the farce that was the occlumency lessons with Snape. Did anybody warn me about the importance of the corridor to the department of Mysteries? No, of course not. Dumbledore kept that knowledge secret again. I was the one who needed to know most. If I had known, I wouldn't have led you all there and risked all your lives and got you injured. We were terribly lucky that none of us were killed by the Death Eaters. And then, when I was grieving over Sirius, then Dumbledore thought it would be prudent to finally tell me the prophecy. Great choice of timing. I didn't need to know the content before; I only needed to know that there was a prophecy and that Voldemort wanted it." Harry ranted.

Ginny squeezed his hand. She had heard this before, but Hermione needed to realize that Dumbledore had made many mistakes. She felt she could somehow forgive Ron easier than Hermione. He was always the insecure one. Not that that would protect him from her coming wrath, no he would get more once Harry had said his part. Hermione she didn't blame so much for leaving, that was an accident while she tried to stop Ron, what she held against her was doubting Harry's intelligence and then not even thinking of the most logical way to get in contact with him. A patronus messenger. Just because Harry didn't take books for gospel and didn't think the same way she did, he wasn't stupid. She could have done that even after they had lost track of him. Just sending a patronus to tell Harryto wait for them would have made a difference. But they had chosen what was easy. Going to the Burrow and letting others continue searching when they didn't know anymore.

"In our sixth year, there was no training for me again. I thought how things could have been handled better. How I could have been prepared better. While we were at Grimmauld Place before fifth year, I could have trained with Sirius. Be it potions, theory of useful charms that would come in useful in battles, or duelling. The underage restriction doesn't work in areas that are inhibited by wizards. Especially not places under a fidelius charm. Nobody can tell who used a charm. Only that around an underage witch or wizard magic was performed. That's why Dobby could get me in trouble with the Ministry over the flying pudding before my second year. Dumbledore knew that, he told me so when we went to convince Slughorn to return. In the dire situation that Voldemort was out to kill me, he should have told me that and made sure I got training.

"Sirius would have loved teaching me. It would have given him a purpose in the Order. He hated feeling useless in that horrible house. In sixth year again, I wasn't given material I should read up on. While I had a lot to do, if I had known it would be important to learn those things, I would have found the time. And the worst part, while he showed me those memories, he neglected to tell me how to destroy a horcrux. That would have made things a lot easier for us. Had I known that the sword was capable of destroying them before we left the school after the funeral, I would have got it secretly. Dumbledore believed I would have to take the sword under duress again. That's rubbish." Harry growled.

"If that was true Dumbledore couldn't have use it to destroy the ring. The only thing I had to do was call the sword to me. As long as no other worthy Gryffindor had won the allegiance of the sword in the meantime, the sword listened to the call of the last one to win its loyalty. Dumbledore just had it on hand, nothing more. I opened the locket with parseltongue and stabbed it while Anubis trapped the soul piece in it with his powers." Harry told them.

Ron nodded. He saw the truth in Harry's words.

"You told us about Nagini and the diadem, where was the last one hidden, the cup?" Ron asked.

"Bellatrix Lestrange's Gringotts vault." Harry answered.

"But how did you get it out of there and how did you think of it?" Hermione asked confused.

"When I was at my relatives' house, I developed a bad cold from running around in the rain, trying to see if you had come back and getting something to eat. I copied the method of the group we overheard and summoned some salmon from the river by the way. With the cold and no potions or muggle medicine to treat it, I called for the only being which I knew could help me; Kreacher. He came and got me potions against the cold. When he asked me if he should steal them at Hogwarts, where he had gone after the Death Eater came to Grimmauld Place, or buy them at the apothecary, I asked how buying them should be possible when I was the most wanted man in the country.

"He seemed to think I was stupid for not knowing that a house elf could get his master money from his vault and buy things in his name. I had Kreacher get the potions from Hogwarts though to not make anybody suspicious and also had him get me a thousand galleons from my vault and five thousand muggle pounds. After that I realized how woefully ignorant I was of many things and after I was better, I had Kreacher tell me all the important things pureblood children learned growing up. If I didn't want to stand out and hide in plain sight, I needed to know. I also asked him about places that were important symbols in the wizarding world. He told me about family manors, Gringotts, the Ministry and Hogwarts. That was how I came up with the idea something could be hidden in one of the vaults of a Death Eater in the inner circle. The most prominent suspect being Bellatrix." Harry explained, still glaring at the two. They had a lot to make up for until he forgave them.

Both Hermione and Ron were surprised how different and confident Harry seemed now. This was not the same man like three months before.

"I stayed four weeks at Privet Drive studying all my old school books, practising the spells I would need and making a plan how I would continue with the search. I had originally planned to search Hogwarts during the Christmas Holidays, but Ginny convinced me that I was stupid again and I should leave that task to the DA as they already were at Hogwarts. So I concentrated on finding out if Bellatrix had a horcrux in her vault. I went to Diagon Alley disguised by muggle means. I had dyed my hair light brown and put in brown contacts. With a bit of make-up I could hide my scar. I got the seventh year books at Flourish and Blotts, a black hooded robe from Madam Malkins, the only ones I had from Grimmauld Place were other colours or didn't have a hood, and face it, most Death Eaters move around in black hooded robes, so it would be perfect to blend in, and visited Fred and George. I reasoned if they didn't recognize me, nobody would." Harry said.

"That makes sense. They told us about the letter you left them." Ron said. "But did you have time to study that much?"

"Ron, how much time did we have while we were out there camping doing nothing productive? While we didn't find clues where the horcruxes were, we should have practiced spells. At the least silent casting. I admit, I didn't think about it at the time, but we still should have done it. On top of that we were idiots concerning our preparation for the task. I mean, one of our most pressing problems was food. Muggles have tinned food in many different variations. We should simply have stored a good selection in Hermione's bag or even better, we should have made one for each of us. That way the whole problem wouldn't have come up like it did. You ran out because you couldn't stand being hungry.

"Well, now you know how I felt more often than not at the Dursleys. You were always jealous of me for my fame and money; well I paid a damn high price for it. But I am now much more secure in my magic and I will return to Hogwarts for the next term to take my NEWTs in late June. It will take some work to get caught up with Herbology and Potions, but I will have no problems with Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Charms." Harry answered flatly.

"How did you find out if the horcrux was there and how did you get into her vault? I wouldn't have thought it was possible to break into Gringotts with all the added security." Hermione asked.

"I found out that Bellatrix always went to the Alley on the first of a month. It was to reward the loyal shop-owners and to intimidate the ones not on Voldemort's side. So on the first December I caught her and interrogated her under veritaserum. I found out they wanted to kidnap Luna to stop her dad from printing the truth; I thwarted that plan later by the way, and got confirmed that she had the cup of Hufflepuff in her vault. I made sure that Gringotts didn't have security measures against the imperius curse and that she couldn't fight it." He informed them.

"How could you use an unforgivable, Harry?" Hermione exclaimed horrified.

"How dare you question him for what he had to do?" Ginny thundered only to be interrupted by Harry.

"We were at war, Hermione! I had to realize that I couldn't spare my enemies or I would be killed. My soul died every time a little bit more with every Death Eater I had to kill, but there was simply no other way to win the damned war. And to kill Voldemort I needed the horcrux in Bellatrix' vault. Breaking into Gringotts would have been suicide. The only way was to get Bellatrix to get it out of there. Nobody ever suspected anything until Voldemort became aware that the Reaper, meaning me, could have found out about the object he had Bellatrix keep safe. I saw everything in one of my damned visions." Harry yelled at her, making her shrink into herself.

She hadn't seen him as mad as now ever before. Thankfully Ginny managed to calm him down to finish the story not before she shot another bat bogey hex at Hermione and Ron. In her opinion they deserved far worse. At least Ron seemed to understand that he was better off not questioning anything at the moment. They didn't have the right after sitting out the war in France.

"After we took out a good part of his followers with four ambushes that the Order of the Phoenix and the DA members had planned together just when Christmas break started, Kingsley and I infiltrated Malfoy Manor with a portkey I had taken from Bellatrix. We wanted to kill as many Death Eaters as possible and free Ollivander and any other captives from there. Voldemort sent Narcissa Malfoy to Bellatrix vault, as she had inherited it all, to get the cup so he could keep it safe. He noticed the fake and got a goblin to interrogate. He found out about me having Bellatrix get three thousand galleons from her vault and taking the cup on the first December. That led to us getting ready at Hogwarts as we knew he would have to come here for his last horcrux." Harry reported.

"Damn it all. I wouldn't have thought of all those places." Ron admitted.

"I did, but you didn't believe me." Harry said bitterly.

"I'm really sorry, Harry, for everything. Bill and Charlie sat me down while we were still hiding at the Burrow and Shell Cottage. They made me realize that I had to get a grip on my problems and not always blame you or others for them. I am trying, I can only say I am sorry and I you find it in you to forgive me, I really want to have my best friend back." Ron said.

"I want you back too, Harry. You are like the brother I never had. I hated knowing that we left you, having you think we abandoned you. I'm so sorry for everything. I should have known you wouldn't keep anything secret from us; I was just so frustrated that we didn't make any progress. That and the hunger made me behave so wrong." Hermione begged.

"It will take time, Ron, Hermione, and it won't be like before. I don't know if I will ever be able to fully forgive you. You hurt me. Even if you didn't mean to, you could have done more, you could have at least sent me a message with a patronus. You said you knew the theory about it, Hermione, when we were at Grimmauld Place. I'll also never just rely on any of you again. I've learned over the last months that I'll make my own decisions and that I am smart. I'll listen to the opinions of others, but I'll make the decisions that I think are the right ones. Maybe they aren't, but I'll have to live with that." Harry said. "Right at the moment I want distance. I need time to cope with what I had to do in this war and you can't help me with that."

Ron and Hermione nodded. They had got away better than they knew they deserved.

"So, you are going to take your NEWTs." Ron said trying another topic after the serious stuff.

"Yes. As I said, I'm well off in Transfiguration, Defence and Charms. Catching up on Potions and Herbology should be doable in the month until the school is repaired and classes start again. And I have the additional advantage that I'll be here when my godchild will be born." Harry said grinning.

"Your godchild?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Remus asked me if I would be godfather for his and Tonks' child. It should be born sometime in March. Remus is going to be the Defence Professor again; Ted is going to take over Muggle Studies until the end of the year. So Tonks and Andromeda are moving in here as well. I agreed." Harry said.

"Congratulations, Harry." Hermione said.

"Just so we understand each other. If any of you hurt Harry again, you'll have to answer to me. I was the one who got him back up when he was sick of guilt and I helped him to go over his ideas. He's my boyfriend and I won't take any derogative comments on our relationship from you again, Ron." Ginny stated threateningly.

Both Ron and Hermione nodded quickly. They knew Ginny would see that through.

* * *

**Wow, only one chapter to go now. Thanks for all the support for this story.**


	14. Aftermath

**Alright, here it is the last chapter for this story. Thanks for following the story faithfully. I will see if I can come up with a new one soon. I have some ideas for a new story, but for the mean time you will have to make do with the other running stories I have. Happy Reading.**

* * *

**Aftermath**

In the next days the burials of all the fallen fighters and innocent victims happened. All the surviving defenders of Hogwarts, the returning muggleborns, and some officials from the Ministry under the leadership of Kingsley attended the funerals. Kingsley had to do a lot of convincing for Harry to accept the order of Merlin first class he was awarded for his actions in the war. Ginny had finally told Harry that he wouldn't get away from that and that he should just accept it. Harry accepted, but insisted that all those that had fallen in the war fighting Voldemort should also get an award. Kingsley readily agreed and made sure that even Sirius and Cedric got one.

As Harry had told Ron and Hermione he treated them distantly. He greeted them politely if he saw them, but he didn't initiate conversations like he did with others like Neville, Seamus and Luna. The felt just how much they had hurt Harry and this time he wasn't willing to simply brush it aside only to not have them leave him like he did with Ron in fourth year.

Once all the fallen Death Eaters had been identified, Harry saw himself confronted with inheriting quite a few of their fortunes. Voldemort had torn a huge hole in the population. So more often than not the ones that normally would have inherited the possessions of the Death Eaters through their last wills were also dead, which meant the goblins contacted the closest remaining living relatives. Harry's mind had spun with how many families he was related to through his father. Sirius really had been right saying that all pureblood families were somehow interrelated. While the Ministry was decimated so much, they let the Gringotts cursebreakers take care of the dark objects in the vaults. While many would think the goblins wouldn't be interested in having the Death Eater vaults handed over to the heirs, it was the opposite. The goblins earned gold if they could invest the fortunes that they were trusted with.

The war had been bad for their business as nobody was sure how a business would stand at the end of the war. Now with the war over and the rebuilding efforts starting in the climate of a no tolerance policy for crimes of the surviving Death Eaters and their unmarked supporters, the goblins started investing again. And investing could only work with the agreement of the owner of a vault. Andromeda Tonks saw herself being the heiress of the Malfoy and Lestrange fortunes as she was the sister of both wives of the heads of house who had no remaining living relatives. Molly Weasley got the Nott and Yaxley vaults. Turned out that her great-grandmother on her father's side had been a Nott and no other members of that family had survived. Her grandfather on her mother's side had been a Yaxley. That would get the Weasleys out of financial worries forever.

Harry had inherited the Rosier vault through his grandmother Dorea Potter, nee Black, her mother had been born a Rosier, he could claim the Peverell vault, which had been in stasis for over four hundred years, the Gaunts never realized there was still a vault, he got the Crabbe vault, five generations ago a Crabbe woman had married a Potter, but to keep the vaults active the goblins got really active and creative in ancestry research and finally the Avery vault. He intended to donate some money to charity. He really didn't know what he should do with all that money. Ginny suggested buying a nice house where they could start a family. Alone for that comment she got a passionate kiss from her boyfriend. Having a family of his own had been his greatest dream and hearing the woman he loved saying she wanted to start a family with him was having that dream come true.

Remus inherited the Goyle and Prince fortunes. Through his mother Snape had been the last of the Prince line, but Remus had been disinherited from both family lines because he was a werewolf. The goblins didn't care though, he was the last relative of their lines and as their wills couldn't be fulfilled due to the heirs being dead themselves and having no heirs of their own, he got them. And Kingsley had already promised to undo the stupid werewolf legislation that Umbridge had created. It made life for him and his family a lot easier.

After the battle Winky also got a dream fulfilled. She had wasted away without having a family to look after. It had got better when she had been part of the resistance against the Carrows and Snape, but she still wanted to be a proper house elf again. So Molly Weasley, who knew that her house would be filled with the offspring of her children sooner or later, now that the war was over and people could start thinking about having families without fear again, offered her to take her as the Weasley house elf. She had always wanted a house elf to help her around the house and even Hermione couldn't deny that Winky would be happier having a family she was bonded to again. And the Weasleys would never abuse her; that she was sure of. She still protested against the abuse of elves. Many house elves were part of the inheritances from the extinct pureblood lines and were now waiting for their new families to get them. They took care of keeping the houses clean for their new masters.

In the battle three house elves lost their lives as well, Harry was very sad that Kreacher was one of them. The old elf had been doing so much better and without his help Harry couldn't have done his task. Harry gave him and the other two a proper burial. He also buried all the stuffed elf heads from Grimmauld Place with Kreacher. He had wanted to be together with his ancestors in death, but Harry couldn't stomach the thought of the elf heads staying where they had been before. Many of the students, whom Kreacher had helped during the Carrows' regime of oppression also attended. They had been humbled by the help the elves had given them and got them food and drinks while the Carrows withheld food from three quarters of the school.

Many also thanked Dobby and Winky personally for their help during those times. Even the pureblood children that had grown up seeing house elves as simple servants that didn't need to be treated well, had had a change of heart. Hermione was very happy to see that. When Dobby heard that Kreacher had died, he went to Harry and asked him if he needed a new house elf to look after him and his future family. Harry asked Dobby if he would like to work for him and Dobby delightedly agreed. Harry had to discuss his payment, Dobby wanted to not take too much, but in the end they got an agreement. He would get two galleons a month and two days off. It was more than he had got from Dumbledore, but Harry was a stubborn wizard.

Kingsley got all the muggleborns out of Azkaban and got them new wands, if their old ones had been destroyed, paid by the Ministry. Ollivander was a big help, remembering exactly what wands they had had before. Those that had been taken away and stored by the Ministry he turned back to their owners; otherwise he had a good idea what kind of wand they could need now. The new first years, thankfully the Ministry hadn't yet targeted them, so they only hadn't been able to go to Hogwarts, mostly still had their things that they had bought at the beginning of the school year and were delighted that they could now start their magical education.

* * *

On the first of February the students returned to Hogwarts. The muggleborn first years were sorted into their new houses. Remus, Ted and Minerva had visited them, explained the situation in the civil war to the concerned parents and offered them to start now, half a year later than planned. The first years would be taught from the start again, after all, many things hadn't been taught properly before, like Defence and Muggle Studies. The end of year exams would also only include what would be taught from February on. All those that had been at Beauxbatons had returned. With Hogwarts being open again, they could just continue where they had left. Ron had to catch up a lot, but with Hermione helping him, he got to an acceptable level. He had finally got the courage to ask her out and she had agreed.

As Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson had been named headboy and headgirl, the new headmistress had to choose new ones. Hermione was disappointed when she was passed over for the headgirl badge, but the headgirl had to be someone the other students could look up to after the chaos, so Padma Patil was chosen. She had been actively helping the younger students under the Carrows' regime and they looked up to her. On top none of the other seventh-year girls had her grades next to being looked up to. What most people didn't expect was who became the new headboy. Many had expected Harry to get it, after all he had been the one to defeat Voldemort, but the new headboy was Neville Longbottom. When he asked Minerva why she had chosen him and not Harry, she told him it had been him who had led the students' resistance against the Carrows and had been their first line of Defence. He deserved it. Harry fully agreed with her and congratulated Neville to his new badge. And he really could use his time better than with headboy duties. He had done his duty, now he wanted to just be a normal student. Well, he got his Quidditch captaincy back, but that duty he gladly accepted back. His replacement, ironically it had been Ginny as she had had the most experience of the team, was only too happy to let him lead the team again. She took the position of co-captain and the captain and co-captain had some long discussions about strategy. Mostly in the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor.

All the games that had been played already, meaning Gryffindor vs. Slytherin and Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff were voided and the new teams, many got their experienced muggleborn players back, would start the season anew. The games would be a bit closer together, but nobody cared. The teachers gave the captains a limit of allowed practice times though as the students had to catch up on a lot of material in their classes.

On the tenth of March Tonks gave birth to her firstborn son, Teddy Remus Lupin. She and Remus had decided to name their child, if it was a boy, Teddy after Tonks father, who had been on the run from the Ministry at the time. Harry was named godfather and spent a lot of his free time together with Ginny and Teddy. At the end of the year Harry and his yearmates sat their NEWTs. After some intense catching up with the material in Herbology with Neville's help and Potions with Andromeda's in January, Harry found the NEWTs while tricky and exhausting, easier than the OWLs. Perhaps because of all the time he had invested in learning the spells during his time at Privet Drive.

He had heard from Dedalus and Hestia that the Dursleys had been brought back in February. He didn't really think about them except for one time when he thought if Aunt Petunia would notice the missing three hundred pounds from the flower vase. So far he didn't get any indication that she did. He didn't care though, it was only the due payment for them using him like a slave around the house and having him wear Dudley's horribly too large cast-offs. A bit payback was only fair.

After his exams were over he had two weeks of free time while the other years took their exams. The only ones finished were the fifth and seventh years. He used that time to be with Ginny whenever she had time and didn't have to learn, with her not having OWLs to take that was much more time than last year, and visiting Tonks and Teddy. While his godson slept most of the time, Harry was fascinated by the tiny baby. Tonks and Andromeda swore he would make a fantastic father one day.

Remus had got the students caught up with proper Defence Against the Dark Arts and the expectations for the OWLs and NEWTs were the best since Harry's fourth year. While the Moody had been a fake, he had taught properly to not be uncovered. With Voldemort dead the curse on the position had been broken and it was sure he would return next year. That he was a werewolf didn't interest anybody. As long as he had wolfsbane potion on the full moons, something Andromeda took care of, as a trained healer she was easily capable of brewing it, it was completely safe for him to teach. And he was loved by his students.

Contrary to the OWLs the NEWTs were graded before the year ended for the students to have enough time to apply for jobs. Harry got an O in Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts and an E in Potions and Herbology. He was very happy with those grades. Hermione got O's in Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and Potions and E's in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Ron was a bit worse, but he still passed his courses. He had E's in Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology and A's in Transfiguration and Potions. Neville surprised many. He got an O in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Herbology and an E in Charms and Astronomy.

* * *

When the seventh years talked about their career intentions, Ron told them he intended to work for the twins and at the same time apply for auror training. He didn't know if he would be taken though as his Transfiguration and Potions NEWTs weren't that good. Hermione would apply for a position in the Ministry. With as many open positions as there were after the fall of Voldemort, her chances to make a good career were great. And under Minister Shacklebolt the ridiculous ostracising of muggleborns had stopped. Neville would start an apprenticeship under a renowned Herbology master to gain his mastery in the subject. Everybody had known Neville would follow his one love of learning in his career choice. Seamus wanted to work for the Daily Prophet and Dean would start working for Flourish and Blotts while he took lessons towards creating wizarding portraits. He wanted to make a career of his drawing talent.

Parvati and Lavender planned learning under Madam Malkins and in the end having their own fashion and beauty salon. Harry surprised most, as they had thought he would start auror training.

"I'm going to be starting seeker for the Appleby Arrows for the next season and I will simultaneously work on my masteries in Defence and Transfiguration. Perhaps Charms too, depends on my time." He told them.

"But Harry, I thought you wanted to be an auror?" Ron asked.

"Ron, I have fought more than I ever wanted to in my whole life. I can't imagine anymore having to hunt down dark wizards all the time. I think I have done my share. And I want to have a family. Having a dangerous job like an auror wouldn't be the safest option with that goal in mind. If I change my mind in the future, I can still apply later in my life. But I think for the moment having fun while playing Quidditch and working on those two perhaps three masteries will be more what I want." Harry said.

"And what do you intend to do after you can't play Quidditch anymore? With those two masteries you are working for, you seem to have a backup plan in mind." Neville asked.

"Yes, I have. I have thought about becoming a teacher. I mean, Hogwarts has been my home since I started here as a first year. Retuning as a teacher doesn't seem so bad. And from the current teachers many will retire over the next ten years. Slughorn will probably do so at the end of this year again, after all Dumbledore got him out of retirement, McGonagall will also give up her teaching position after this year and will only be headmistress. Sprout will retire in the timeframe I mentioned and probably Flitwick as well. I can't see Ted keeping his position for many years as well. So there would be a good chance to take one of their positions." Harry explained.

"That's a great plan, Harry. You were a fantastic teacher when you led the DA. Your students would be lucky to have you." Lavender said.

Hermione nodded. Harry had been a great teacher and she could imagine him well in that position.

"What did Ginny say about your plans?" She asked.

"She was happy and fully supports me." Harry said.

He also had plans for Ginny's birthday. He had planned to ask her to marry him. He knew she was the one for him and he didn't want to wait telling her that for much longer. She would turn seventeen on the eleventh August and therefore be of age. He knew she also had plans of making a career in Quidditch if a team wanted to have her and he thought she would do great.

* * *

**Time skip 5 years after Battle of Hogwarts (ABOH)**

Harry Potter held his wife's hand while she was going through labour. His hand felt like she had broken a bone or two, but he knew she was in more pain than him. Very soon he would see his first child. And his second. Ginny was expecting twins, two boys from what Alicia Wood, their healer had told them. Alicia Spinnet had married Oliver Wood and had become a healer. Oliver was the captain of the Puddlemere United Quidditch team and his team-mates had become used to their fanatic of a captain, especially when they had to play against the Appleby Arrows, the two times winner of the league under their captain Harry Potter.

Ginny Potter had played three years after graduating from Hogwarts for the Holyhead Harpies. They didn't win the league during that time, but Ginny had been the best chaser of the whole league during her second professional year. After that she and Harry had decided to start a family. She had first worked with the twins in their shop, turned out she was a great inspiration for the twins for new pranks, and had then started working on her Runes mastery simultaneously. She reasoned if Harry wanted to become a teacher after he finished his Quidditch career she didn't want to be left behind. And Bill had got her interested in Runes when she was little. It had been one of her best classes at Hogwarts and her chances to get the position were pretty good. Not many Runes masters went into teaching, most worked in positions like cursebreaker or enchanter.

By now Harry had his Defence mastery and was close to getting the Transfiguration one. His Charms one was a bit behind, but he just didn't have the time to really work under more than two masters in his free time.

Ginny was going through the final phase. Alicia told her she could already see the head. Then Ginny pressed again and the first twin came out. Alicia handed Harry scissors to cut the umbical cord. After that she handed the baby boy to a nurse to get him weighed and examined. She stayed with Ginny and waited for the second baby to be born. Four minutes later the second boy came out. Harry again was tasked with cutting the umbical cord. Then Alicia took the boy to get him examined.

Harry stroked Ginny's wet hair. She had gone through seven hours of labour to get the twins into this world. He was incredibly proud of her. Then Alicia and a nurse came to them with the twins in blue blankets.

"Here are your sons. They are perfectly healthy. What names did you choose?" Alicia asked while she handed Ginny one baby and the nurse handed Harry the other.

Harry was fascinated with the little boy that was his son in his arms. He looked over to Ginny and saw it was the same with her and the second twin.

"Ginny and I decided to name the firstborn James Marcus and the second born Sirius Jonas." Harry told Alicia.

"James Marcus Potter and Sirius Jonas Potter. I like the names." Alicia said. "Why didn't you give any of them your name as a middle name? I have many parents who do that, it's traditional."

"We thought about it, but we didn't want to put one twin over the other. And with Harry being as famous as he is, we didn't want to burden any of our children with his name as the middle name. We don't want any of our children feeling forced to live up to his name." Ginny explained while looking at Sirius.

After half an hour Ginny needed to rest and Harry let Alicia and the nurse lay the twins down in their beds in Ginny's room. He would inform their family and friends of the two newest Potters.

* * *

**Time skip Ten years ABOH**

"Cedric Potter, don't touch Mummy's wand." Harry admonished his three year old son.

"Wanna pway." Cedric answered pleading with his father from his big green eyes.

"Come on, Ceddy, let's go out in the garden and see what your older brothers and your cousins are doing. And I'm sure Anubis will be happy to play with you." Harry said, lifting Ceddy from the ground and taking his son out into the garden of the Burrow.

Today was the traditional family and friends get-together for Easter. The Weasleys were hosting it and now counted an impressive number with six children and a heap of grandchildren. Bill and Fleur having three children, Victoire, Dominique and Pierre, Fred and Angelina and her two kids Fabian and Michelle, George and his wife Irene were expecting their second child in three months and the one year old Rachel was sleeping in the house at the moment together with her cousin Rose, Ron's and Hermione's first daughter. Charlie, despite his mother's best efforts hadn't married yet, but he had a girlfriend. They were living in Romania, Charlie leading the dragon preserve now.

The next kids were Harry's and Ginny's four. The twins James and Sirius, Cedric and baby Lily. Lily had been born just a month ago. Hermione was also expecting again, her son would be born in two months. Harry had finally completely forgiven Hermione and Ron for their actions during the war as it was too troublesome being mad at a member of your family. Still, he was a lot more distant with them than during his first six years at school. Molly was delighted at having so many grandchildren. Next to the family the Lupins were also present with their sons Teddy and Robert and their daughter Nancy. Tonks had insisted that her daughter wouldn't suffer from a ridiculous name like she had. Remus hadn't even though of naming any of his children that way.

The oldest was Teddy, who would start at Hogwarts this year. Then came Victoire with nine years, Robert with eight and a half, Fabian with eight, Michelle, James, Sirius and Dominique with five years, Nancy with four, Cedric and Pierre with three years, Rose and Rachel with one and baby Lily came in last. But soon the son of Ron and Hermione and the baby of George and Irene would be the youngest. The parents watched how their children played tag with Anubis being an eager participant in the game.

"I heard you had retired from your professional Quidditch career, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I have won everything I could. I was winner of the league four times since I started with the Arrows, have won the World Cup last year with the English team and the European Masters two years ago in the Finals against the Vratsa Vultures with Viktor leading them. I have had a great time playing Quidditch, but now it's time for something else." He said.

"So what will you do?" George asked.

"Ask Remus." Harry answered grinning.

After Professor McGonagall had retired as headmistress of Hogwarts at the end of last year Remus had been named headmaster in her stead. It had been a huge debate in the Ministry, but Hermione, in her position as head of the Department of Magical Creatures, which she had completely changed in her time there, had shot down all prejudices against werewolves in the beginning.

"Well, as I needed a competent new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher with my Darling wife not being willed to fill in the position any longer than till the end of the year, she wants to return to her work with the aurors, she really thinks teaching is too boring, I offered the position to Harry when I heard he would end his Quidditch career. With him having three masteries the decision wasn't a hard one." Remus said. "So may I introduce to you the future Professor Potter?"

"Really? That's great, Harry." Angelina said.

"Will Hogwarts survive a whole bunch of Potters living there?" Fred joked, knowing that James and Sirius were going to become great pranksters. They definitely had inherited the marauder gene.

"After being used to a bunch of Lupins I guess that will be not so much of a change." Tonks said. "We already have a good working child care system. Having so many volunteering girls to babysit my children was great."

Molly called all of them together, telling the food was ready. Arthur and Bill had been grilling meat and sausages and all of them were eager to eat. Molly and Andromeda had prepared salads, bread, sauces and vegetables to go with the grilled goods and as always the Easter party at the Burrow was a fantastic family feast, with Dobby and Winky being happier than ever working on supplying their families with clean plates and getting more food from the fridge once the first bowls were empty.

* * *

**Time Skip Twenty ABOH**

Harry Potter sat on the head table of the Great Hall in Hogwarts, next to his friend and colleague Neville Longbottom on his left and his wife Ginny Potter, who had joined her husband in teaching three years ago on his right. After her last child, Elisabeth, had turned four, she had thought she could take over the newly open position of Ancient Runes teacher from the retiring Bathsheba Babbling. Neville had started teaching Herbology at the same time Harry had started teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. At the moment three of Harry's five children were attending Hogwarts. The twins James and Sirius had started their fifth year and were really living up to their marauder heritage. It didn't help at all that their uncles Fred and George were their idols. Harry didn't know how many times he had had to give his sons detention. But as headmaster Lupin found it terrible funny, Harry didn't mind their pranking habits that much. He was just glad that Ceddy didn't follow his older brothers in that area, he and his best friend Robby Longbottom, Neville's oldest son with Luna, were more into Quidditch.

He only had made sure that they never fell into the trap of overdoing it and crossing the line to bullying. And he made it clear that as long as their grades didn't suffer, he wouldn't interfere. When he had gone to the headmaster's office to talk to Dumbledore's portrait a few days after the last battle, Dumbledore had finally told him why he had trusted Snape so much. Snape had loved Harry's mother Lily. He had been friends with her since they were children and the memory Harry had seen in his fifth year had been their final falling out. Nonetheless Snape never stopped loving Lily and for her he had always protected Harry even if he hated that Harry looked like his father.

Harry, who had been bullied as a child himself taught all his children the difference between having a good laugh and hurting somebody else's feelings. Cedric was in his second year, Lily and Holly would start in one and four years respectively.

After the war the wizarding society had changed massively. The only surviving pureblood families that didn't go to Azkaban were the neutral ones and the light ones. Today there were nearly no pureblood children attending Hogwarts. With so few pureblood witches and wizards surviving the war, there simply hadn't been many choices to marry. Most children were halfblood with a good number of muggleborns. Not that the blood status interested anybody. They were just children learning to use magic.

After Kingsley retired as Minister for magic two years ago, the British wizarding world got their first muggleborn Minister in Hermione Weasley. Over the last twenty years since the fall of Voldemort the young generation had changed their world. They had started successful careers, had a record number of children, families with four or five children weren't rare anymore as, when some retarded old politicians had tried to force more people into arranged marriages to repopulate the shrunken society in Great Britain, an idea Kingsley Shacklebolt had shot down harshly, Harry Potter, who had had enough of blood bigots trying to keep in control, had proposed an incentive program for families who had more than two children.

With Harry Potter, the hero of the wizarding world, spearheading a program for more children and advantages for said families, many couples had decided to follow his lead. Luna Longbottom became the founder of the first wizarding child care institution. With three children of her own and her closest friends also having many children, she had the idea that for parents to still be able to keep their jobs when they had little children and not have financial problems, there needed to be a place where the children could play and learn together before they went to Hogwarts. Hermione introduced Luna to the systems in the muggle world and Luna built up the system. First she used the large grounds around the Rookery then she soon needed to have more places.

Older witches like Andromeda Tonks and Molly Weasley were happy to again take care of little children for some hours a day so that their mothers could work and add to the family income. Molly, having experienced the need for two incomes in a large family herself with seven children knew this would be the only way to get the rebuilding of their world done and at the same time raise the number of witches and wizards again. Those working witches were needed and the ones who had always stayed at home taking care of their children now had a new responsibility.

Even Hogwarts had a child care system. It included the children from Hogsmeade as well. In a former unused part of the castle the children that were younger than eleven were either taught in reading, writing and calculation and the like or played with other children. There had been no signs of any dark wizards rising again. The defeat of Voldemort's followers was absolute. While some of the younger followers, those that had been threatened to follow Voldemort had been released from prison after ten years, no one in the wizarding world wanted to return to those times of terror. No, people liked how things were now. They had peace, their Ministry was competent and not corrupt anymore, witches and wizards of all heritages lived together peacefully, sentient magical creatures had more rights and were treated as equals and the new generation grew up without knowing the horrors of war.

All was well.

* * *

**I couldn't refrain from using that line as the closer. Hope you liked the ending.**


End file.
